Discovered
by Hedwig466
Summary: They were visiting Glinda, but she wasn't supposed to see them. Which would have been fine if someone else hadn't turned up.. But now, someone's missing, and everything is at stake. Fiyeraba. 3rd Place in 2010 Wicked Awards for Best AU
1. Discovered

One-shot #1

Glinda paced the roof of her castle in the moonlight, looking more and more distraught.

It was officially one week ago that her best friend had died_. In vain_, the blonde thought miserably. Her own father ordered her dead. Glinda's ex was nowhere to be found.

Truth be told, Glinda wasn't even sure he was her ex, she wasn't even sure they were together. He never really liked her_... And besides_, Glinda thought. _He's gone too. _She shook her head as tears formed in her eyes. She couldn't be crying now. _She_ wouldn't want her to cry....

But Glinda couldn't help it. She nearly collapsed onto the cold stone floor, but caught herself on a railing and lowered herself onto the ledge. She didn't notice the figures standing behind her, shrouded in darkness. Two of them were on one side behind her, another on the other side.

Then she began to sob, covering her face in her hands. "Elphie," she whispered. "Where are you?"

The two figures watched the blond sob without moving. The shorter one turned to face the other.

"Fiyero," she whispered. "I feel horrible." Tears formed in the woman's eyes as well. Fiyero put her arm around her shoulders.

"Shh, Elphie. She'll hear you."

"But I feel horrible. She comes up here every night. She blames herself. She..." Elphaba looked up at him, and he kissed her forehead.

"There's nothing we can do, Fae. She can't know were here. She can't know we're not dead."

"But why can't she? She can keep a secret. She's done it before, I trust her."

"I trust her too. But she needs this. She has to learn. She can't always depend on you. She's a big girl."

"But, Fiyero..." She couldn't finish, a lump in her throat forming. "I can't watch this."

"You come here every night. Why can't you tonight?"

"Please, Yero." She looked up at him, pleading. "Let me talk to her. I won't let her see me; I could be a ghost."

He thought for a moment. "I... I don't know. I guess. But give her a minute. I'll tell you when you can go."

"Oh, thank you!" She hugged him then. Then she turned her attention to the woman weeping before them.

Boq watched Glinda cry. He too, watched her every night. Every night he wanted to say something, to comfort her, but what would she want with him? _I'm not even a human_, Boq thought. He held up his palm and watched it glint in the moonlight. _Tin, _he thought. _It was all Elphaba- It was all the witch's fault. She did this. I don't know why, but she did this. _

He watched as Glinda's sobs became quieter and fewer. She finally slid to the cold ground, asleep. He stared at his hand again, tilting it towards the light.

"Look," he heard someone gasp, or was it a trick of his mind? He could swear he heard someone. He stared at Glinda for a few more minutes and made up his mind.

He stepped into the light towards Glinda.

"Look" Elphaba gasped. She stepped backwards quickly as the Tin Man turned to look at her.

"What is it?" Fiyero asked her.

Elphaba shook her head and promised herself it was nothing. She looked down at her hands which were rough and dry. And green. She stretched them, flexing their muscles. They were sore, and so was she. She had not slept the night before. After she had visited Glinda, she went back to Kiamo Ko and spent three or four hours poring over her spellbooks. She finally found what she had been searching for- a transformation spell.

She had managed to find it, and she spent the following hour perfecting it and practicing it on simple objects. She had it, and that day she had done what she had wanted for so long- Fiyero human. She still couldn't believe it. She had missed him.

She was horrified to discover Fiyero's wounds though. His face, back and arms were covered in bruises, cuts and scars. She had had no idea-

Just then, she noticed Glinda had fallen asleep. She looked up at Fiyero hopefully, and he nodded. They walked towards Glinda, and at the same time, another figure stepped out.

"Boq." Elphaba whispered.

Boq filled with hatred as he saw the man and woman step towards Glinda at the same time.

"Boq," he heard her whisper.

He assessed the situation. His worst enemy and his best friend, together, arm in arm.

"You," he said, pointing his finger at Elphaba in an accusatory way. He took a step towards her, hoping to appear threatening. Fiyero stepped in front of her immediately, seeing the axe his friend was carrying. She ignored them and went to kneel beside her best friend.

Boq realized Fiyero would never let him hurt Elphaba. Instead he smiled at Fiyero, the way old friends would, but he didn't smile back.

Fiyero walked to where Boq stood.

"You look good," Boq commented. "Very... solid." Fiyero did not answer and instead watched the tin man carefully. They had been through much together the week before. They had traveled together to the Emerald City with the human, Dorothy.

Both men turned as Glinda called out in her sleep.

"Fiyero!" she cried. Fiyero knelt down beside Elphaba.

"Is she okay?"

She nodded. "Glinda does this every night. I can't imagine what she's seeing."

Glinda began to scream. Boq sat on her other side.

Glinda tossed and turned. "Stop!" she cried. "Elphie... Fiyero..." Suddenly, her eyes flew open.

"Elphie?"


	2. Rings, Tears and the Truth

**A/N- This story's not as popular as one would hope. Either way here it is…**

**Chapter 2**

**Rings, Tears and the Truth**

The green-skinned woman gasped involuntarily. Glinda's three visitors stood up and each took a step backwards. Boq looked at Fiyero and Elphaba. Fiyero glared at him, and he shrugged, deciding he would return later. _Ten minutes_, he mouthed to Fiyero. Fiyero nodded and moved backwards, thinking Elphaba needed time alone with her friend.

Glinda looked up at her.

"Am I awake?" Glinda asked, sitting up. She looked at Elphaba for an answer, but Elphaba looked behind her at someone or something she couldn't see.

Glinda decided then she was indeed asleep, seeing as her best friend could not really be with her in real life.

The pretty blonde's eyes filled with tears again. "Oh Elphie, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault..."

The raven haired woman shook her head and sat down beside Glinda. "It's not your fault. What could you have possibly done?"

But Glinda merely looked at her friend, not knowing what to say. "I didn't... I didn't mean for that to happen with... Nessa." She finished. She looked at Elphaba for some sort of reaction, but her friends face was unreadable.

"I didn't think... I didn't think Morrible and the others would go so far as to... I mean, I only said to spread a rumor not to..." she burst into tears then, hating herself for what she had done.

Elphaba put her arm around Glinda's shoulders and sat still.

"I know." she said finally. "Let's not talk about it now, alright? There's always later. Tell me what you've been up to."

The blonde sniffed and took a few breaths to calm down. "Well... Ever since..." she paused searching for the right word. "The day where you..." she couldn't bring herself to say the word 'died'. Elphaba nodded. "I found your bottle and I recognized it from... from the day you set the monkeys free and Fiyero..." she was having a harder time than she thought. Fiyero was still a soft spot with her, and the day she was talking about was the day she learned the truth about him and her best friend.

"...came, the Wizard offered me a drink from the same bottle. After you..." she found her strength. ".. Died, I showed it to him. I told him you said it was your mothers remember? And then... Elphie, he's your-"

"Father," she finished.

"Yes. He was so upset, Elphie. He left. He was going to go with the Kansas brat but he left without her. She was all upset. And her friends were there too. You know what was strange? The lion, he was the same one that man brought in a cage to Shiz that day. Do you remember that? Of course you do." she laughed for the first time that week. "You put the whole class under that spell, right? Anyway. It was the three of them together, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Lion. And the girl, of course and her dog, Dodo."

"Toto," Elphaba deadpanned, cracking a smile as well.

"Toto. Did you ever see them up close? The Tin Man and the Scarecrow, I mean." Her words began to run together nervously- she had no idea what her friend would say, how she would react. "The Tin one, that was Bow, but you knew that. He said you did it, but I know you had a reason. And the Scarecrow, he looked just like..." she trailed off, and seeing her friend's face fill with guilt, she continued quickly. "Anyway. Morrible went to prison, and that's about it."

She watched Elphaba's face. Finally, she spoke.

"I have something to tell you. A lot of things to tell you, actually. Things I couldn't tell you that day at the castle." She avoided the term "the day I died," knowing it was a lie.

"I'll start with that day at Shiz. With the lion cub? When I took it out? I..." she watched Fiyero's outline tense. He had moved closer but was still only visible to Elphaba; Glinda's entire focus was on Elphaba.

"I wasn't alone. Fiyero was with me." She looked at her friend for a reaction. This time it was Glinda who showed no emotion. "He helped me put the Lion cub somewhere safe."

"That's why...That's why he was so distant." Elphaba nodded, resting her head against the railing.

"There's something else. When Nessa died- it's okay, Glinda, I understand" she said quickly seeing her friend's eyes begin to fill with tears once again.

"When Nessa died that day, and I was rescued before the guards came... Do you know what happened?" She asked softly, bringing her knees to her chest.

Glinda nodded numbly. "They took him away, Elphie. They took him away and... They killed him." She looked at Elphaba, who was only watching her. "They brought him to a field and they..." she couldn't go into detail, the memory still making her nauseous. All that blood...

"He's gone Elphie. I'm sorry." She looked up at her friend again, and saw her still watching her strangely. "He's not coming back." Elphaba watched Fiyero shift uncomfortably in the darkness. He still felt guilty for not telling her what he went through.

"Glinda, did you ever wonder where that scarecrow came from?"

"The one that looked like...him?" Elphaba nodded. "What do you mean, Elphie?"

"They took Fiyero away to the field where he...died. Did you ever see him?"

"No, not exactly. I saw him when he was still alive, but I went back after and he wasn't there. They took him down, Elphie. I don't know where they took his body..." She glanced at Elphaba, and was shocked to see her smiling, slightly. Just barely, but she was smiling.

"They didn't." Elphaba said, and finally Glinda understood. "You mean, the scarecrow was... that was amazing Elphie." she breathed. "But... I don't know where he went."

Elphaba was still smiling, broader now. "I do." she said.

From the darkness, a figure emerged. Elphaba stood up and so did Glinda. Fiyero walked up to them and put his arm around Elphaba.

"Fiyero?" the blonde gasped. "But how..?"

Fiyero smiled at Glinda. "Hello, Glinda." All at once, Glinda burst into tears again. Elphaba and Fiyero put their arms around her and helped her sit down again.

"Fiyero, I'm sorry about that day. Both of you. I really am. I never knew..."

"It's okay, Glinda." Elphaba said quietly. She put her hand on her friend's knee, and Glinda suddenly noticed the silver ring on her finger.

"You were... engaged?" Elphaba nodded, seeing Glinda's own engagement ring, from back when Glinda and Fiyero were engaged. They weren't anymore though, that was over when he rescued Elphaba... twice. Elphaba murmured to Fiyero "_Can we tell her?"_ But Fiyero shook his head.

"I'm so happy for you." she whispered.

"_Please?"_ Elphaba murmured, still barely audible. Again Fiyero shook his head.

"I had no idea of all the things I deprived you of. This is just another thing I did to make your life difficult. Engaged..." She could no longer make eye contact with either.

"I took your sister, your reputation... I ruined you, Elphie. All those rallies against you... And now this."

Elphaba's face contorted with guilt. She was putting her own best friend through hell, letting her think she was to blame for everything. Fiyero nodded to her then; he hated seeing Elphaba like that.

"Engaged." Glinda repeated, still trying to wrap her brain around it. "You were engaged and..."

"..And we still are, Glinda." The blonde looked at her friend in bewilderment.

"What do you...?"

"We're not dead Glinda. Please, try to understand. We couldn't tell anyone... nobody knows. Not even Chistery knows. Please, Glinda."

Glinda remained motionless, and suddenly hugged her friend.

"So is this...?"

"Yes, it's real."

Boq entered then.

"Boq, Boq!" Glinda squealed. "They're not dead, they're not... Boq?"

Boq was smiling oddly. From behind him, he heard a shout. "Boq? Is that..."

Before she could finish her sentence, two dozen guards suddenly appeared, each carrying guns.

**A/N- You weren't expecting that one, were you? Just you wait my pretties, I have more up my sleeve…**

**And FYI, the review button doesn't bite…**


	3. Gone

**A/N- It's funny, I haven't gotten any hate mail from Boq fanatics. Everyone's writing to me things like "Boq you idiot! I hate you!" It's really interesting. I love these reviews!**

**Disclaimer- I haven't been really good at doing this. I think you all know I don't own Wicked or anything in it- otherwise I wouldn't waste my time writing Fan fictions. I don't really want to own it either, but I wouldn't mind owning some tickets to Wicked..**

**Chapter 3**

**Gone**

Within moments, two of the guards had grabbed Fiyero and Elphaba and were holding them by their arms. Another two were holding muskets, one musket aimed at each in case they tried to escape. Another was holding Glinda, who was screaming and fighting the hardest she could, which was not very.

They had formed some sort of semi-circle, with the prisoners in a "u" shape, and Boq was in the middle. Glinda had stopped screaming and was now struggling in the guards grasp. Fiyero was glaring at Boq, and Elphaba was watching, her face showing no emotion.

"Boq how could you?" Glinda shrieked her efforts of escaping growing weaker and weaker.

The Tin Man looked at the petite blonde, his eyes amused.

"How could I not?" he said. "Public Enemies number 1 and number 2, both unarmed. Besides," he said, glaring at the green woman, "I owe her."

"What do you mean, 'you owe her'? What has she done to you? And what about Fiyero? After all you two went through together?"

"We went on that quest, if I remember correctly, assigned by the Wizard, to get rid of the Wicked Witch of the West." He looked at Fiyero pointedly, "And we all agreed."

Elphaba felt anger tear through her stomach, but she still managed to keep a straight face. She knew Fiyero had not told her everything, but was this true?

"That is a lie!" Fiyero spoke up for the first time. "He said to bring him the broom, which we did to get that stupid girl off our hands." He suddenly had a burst of strength and yanked himself free of the guard. The one with the musket aimed, but Boq waved him off, interested in seeing what the now human Fiyero had to say.

"Then tell me, if she did nothing wrong, why I am like _this, _and why _she,"_ he said, pointing at his enemy, "tried to kill us all."

Elphaba laughed derisively.

"You think I_ chose_ for you to be like that? Did precious Nessa never tell you what really happened?" She too managed to break free of her guard and walked up to Boq.

Boq flinched as she said Nessa's name. Nessa had been gone for over a week now, but he still was sensitive on the subject.

"I know exactly what happened. You visited, and after practically scaring her to death with those shoes, you did this."

"There are so many things she's been keeping from you. Of course, with Nessa I would expect as much. Using me to reconcile what she did to you." The raven-haired woman closed her eyes, and muttered something under her breath. From behind a guard, her broom came flying, nearly knocking him over. Elphaba caught it, and handed it to Fiyero.

She held out her hand just like she had done so many times that week, and a ball of flame materialized, lighting up the rooftop courtyard. She grinned inwardly as she saw the Tin Man recoil. Fiyero held out the broom, and she mounted it, still holding the fire. Fiyero mounted it too; careful not to get too close to her hand- he was still uneasy around fire.

She threw the flaming ball at her feet and it exploded. She kicked off from the stone roof and the two of them were gone.

She was silent as they flew; enjoying the cool silence, thinking Fiyero was asleep. She didn't know he was awake. He was trying to decide whether he should say something or not, but he decided against it; he knew she was happy 'alone' at the moment and did not want to anger her.

Elphaba noticed his breathing was uneven and quiet, like he was trying not to disturb her. As a test, she slowed down the broom and held onto it with one hand. She pulled matches from her pocket- she always had them handy. She held them out, away from the broom so as to put them in Fiyero's view. She felt his grip on her tighten and his breathing become quicker.

"I know you're awake," she said, storing the matches in her pocket again. He sighed.

"All right, what did you want to talk about?" he asked, knowing that was why she had bothered checking to see if he was awake. She was silent, watching trees speed by below her.

In the distance, she spotted Kiamo Ko and she sped up, flying faster than Fiyero would have liked. He was still uncomfortable with flying and flying that fast that high was not something he considered enjoyable or safe.

Elphaba chuckled, feeling his grip tighten again. Just for fun, she dove down to be level with the trees and swerved in and out of the branches until she thought her shoulders would break with the force she was being held by. She flew back to the height they were at before.

The castle was closer now, and she touched down softly on the grass in front of it. She pried Fiyero's arms off of herself, and knocked on the old wooden door.

It opened a crack, and she whispered through the space, "It's us, Chistery." The door opened wider, revealing the monkey with wings named Chistery. He bowed to them, and led them inside. Chistery left the room then, locking the door they had come in by.

Elphaba walked to the window, looking out at the forest. She was still, which made Fiyero even more uncomfortable.

"I'm going to bed." he said. "Night Fae." He turned and went up the stairs, leaving Elphaba alone.

When Elphaba woke up in the morning, the sun had barely risen yet. She didn't move, her eyes still closed, enjoying the moment, enjoying the haze that seemed to be wrapped around her mind.

After a moment, her head began to clear, the events of the night before bringing her to reality. At that moment, she noticed how quiet it was. Eerily quiet. There were no birds chirping, no leaves rustling. She sat up, and realized Fiyero was not in the bed. She felt her heart pick up speed, but she told herself not to panic.

_He could be up already,_ she thought to herself. _He likes being up early, maybe he's just quiet. Maybe he didn't want to wake me... _

She stood up and tip-toed down the stairs.

"Hello?" she called, heart pounding. Chistery appeared, and when she saw the expression on his face, Elphaba froze. "Where is he?" she asked.

Wordlessly, he handed her a piece of paper. Seeing the handwriting, her stomach flipped and she felt nauseous.

_I'm sorry I didn't tell you what happened with the Wizard. You had a right to know he was out to kill you. You know that now, but what you don't know is why Boq called the guards. There are some things, Elphaba, that you shouldn't know, and things I can't tell you. I can't stay here any longer. _

_Fiyero_

If that wasn't enough, there was a small leather pouch attached. Inside it, was his engagement ring.

Elphaba felt the world tilt, and she grabbed a tabletop to keep from falling_. Gone_, she thought_. He's gone..._

And finally, everything went black.

**A/N- I'm sorry! I had no idea the chapter would end that way! Please don't hate me! **

**People seem to think I **_**am**_** the characters I write about, I get reviews that are literally people talking to me like I was Boq. Or Glinda. Or Elphaba. I think it's actually cool. If you have something to say to a character, feel free to tell me. I'll pass it along…**


	4. Fire After Fire

**A/N- This is a long one.. Extremely fluffy too.... Sorry if it sucks, I don't really do fluffy. **

**Sorry for being intense last time.. I'm gonna do it again....**

**Chapter 4**

**Fire After Fire**

Elphaba awoke to the sound of panting. She couldn't open her eyes. They felt too heavy to open, as if they were lead. She rolled over, and felt something wet and cold on her forehead.

At last she could open her eyes.

"Fiyero?" But when she opened them, she discovered it wasn't Fiyero there, but Chistery with a wet cloth. He put it to her forehead again.

"Miss passed out. Carried you to bed. You out two days." Chistery still had trouble speaking.

She struggled to sit up. Only then did she notice a person, sitting in a chair in the corner. It was shadowed, so she couldn't see who it was.

"Hello?" she called to the mysterious person. The person shifted and stretched. Their eyes searched the room and fell on the green-skinned woman.

"Elphie!" Glinda squealed, running to her bedside. "Oh, Elphie. Chistery sent me a letter to come- I didn't know he could write- and I came over to help take care of you and, oh I'm so glad you're awake. What happened?"

Elphaba realized then that she was still holding Fiyero's note. It was crinkled and damp from being in her hands for apparently two days. She handed it to Glinda, and watched as tears formed in the blonde's blue eyes.

"Oh, Elphie." She moved to sit next to her on the bed and hugged her.

"You shouldn't be here." Elphaba said at last. It was nice to know Glinda cared, but she couldn't put her friend in danger again.

"Elphaba don't you start with me. I made the choice to come. You made me think you were dead for a week, a week, Elphie. I was going crazy, because I thought it was my fault. You owe me."

Elphaba flinched, thinking of the Tin Man's words two days before. "_Besides, I owe her." _

"Fine. You can stay." She smiled a shaky smile, but almost immediately her face clouded over. Chistery left the room then, mumbling something about breakfast.

Glinda handed the note back to Elphaba, who read it again. "I just… it's so unlike him. To just leave so suddenly."

Her best friend nodded, unsure of what to say. "I mean, he was fine last night. And he was up pretty early I guess. But..." She sighed.

Glinda hugged her again.

"That's why we're going to find him."

Elphaba trudged down the stairs an hour later, her hair tangled and greasy, dark circles under her eyes. Glinda was sitting at the kitchen table, looking at a map of Oz.

She sat down across from the blonde and sighed.

"What makes you so sure we'll find him? He left, Glinda. I don't think he wants to be found."

Glinda shuddered, remembering when she had said almost the exact same thing to Fiyero so long ago. _"No one has searched harder for her than you. But don't you see? She doesn't want to be found." _

Glinda pushed these thoughts out of her mind and grabbed her best friend's hands.

"No, Elphie. You can't think that way. Let me see that note. There was something suspicious about it, I'm positive. I can actually think now. Maybe there's a clue or something." Slowly, the green woman pulled the crumpled paper out of her pocket. She had it memorized already.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you what happened with the Wizard. You had a right to know he was out to kill you. You know that now, but what you don't know is why Boq called the guards. There are some things, Elphaba, that you shouldn't know, and things I can't tell you. I can't stay here any longer...Fiyero." they read it out loud together.

"Okay, how about this? When is the last time he called you 'Elphaba'?" The blonde searched desperately for something, anything.

"When he proposed." Suddenly, Elphaba was whisked back into the past...

_***flashback***_

_"Fae, can you tell me something?" Fiyero, still in scarecrow form looked at her expectantly. _

_"Of course, Yero. What?" She sat next to him on the couch and snuggled into his cloth side. _

_"Why are we still together?" She jumped back, as if he was on fire. _

_"What do you mean, 'why are we still together'? After all we went through, you saving my life-"_

_"And you saved mine. But Fae, I'm not even human. I look hideous." She hung her head. _

_"I'm sorry Yero. I tried my best-" _

_"You know that's not what I mean. I'm cloth, for Oz's sake." She put her hand around his face. "Go ahead, touch, I don't mind. Ah, you did the best you could. You saved my life."_

_"You're still beautiful." She smiled. _

_"You don't need to lie to me."_

_She grinned, looking him straight in the eye. _

_"It's not lying," she said, quoting what he had told her a few weeks before. "It's just looking at things another way." He grinned back, and they hugged each other for a moment. He stood up then, looking suddenly serious. He knelt then, and she stood, knowing what was coming._

_"Elphaba, I love you more than anything. Will you..." he trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. He was suddenly worried, Elphaba's eyes were filled with tears, and he knew she never cried. He stood and put a hand on her shoulder." Fae what's wrong-" she cried freely then, and wrapped her arms around his neck. She stepped back, holding him at arm's length. Through her tears, she sang,_

_"Say there's no future for us as a pair, and though, I may know, I don't care. Just for this moment, as long as you're mine..." She began to cry again, and he could see they were tears of joy. He pulled them both onto the couch, Elphaba on his lap. _

_She wiped her tears away. In a shaky voice, she said "Of course I'll marry you." _

_***present***_

"When he proposed." she repeated. "He uses my name when he's serious." Glinda still stared at the note.

"Something is seriously wrong here; I just can't put my finger on it."

"The fact that he left? The fact that he went back on his promise?" Elphaba looked like she would cry any minute.

"I've got it!" Elphaba waited for Glinda to continue. "Okay, you guys still get the paper right?"

"Yeah..."

"What was one of the headlines last week?"

"Umm...'Glinda confirms suspicions; Wicked Witch of the West is Dead?" Glinda blushed.

"No..."

"Scarecrow a scaredy cat? Where is our cloth friend, and is his disappearance linked to the Witch's death?"

"No! Not about you, or Fiyero." Elphaba cringed hearing his name. "The fire...?" she waited for this to sink in.

"Umm, I saw that, I didn't read it. He didn't want me to; he said I had enough to worry about."

"Do you still have it?" The green woman dashed to a wicker basket in the corner of the room where they kept old newspapers for lighting in the fireplace. She searched for a moment and pulled newsprint out. She put it on the table and pulled her chair next to Glinda's. They read in silence.

FREAK FIRES RESULT IN DEATHS OF TWO BELOVED LEADERS

_Yesterday, a mysterious round of fires occurred in the center of the Vinkus and our beloved King and Queen are with us no more. Where was their son, the troubled Mr. Triggular? Fiyero Triggular has been kicked out of multiple boarding schools for a number of reasons. He was last seen rescuing the green convict from arrest by threatening to kill Oz's own Glinda the Good..._

The article continued to talk about Fiyero, not really mentioning the fire much until the end, where there was a list of theories of how the fire could have started.

"That's hardly about the fire!" Elphaba exclaimed. "The nerve of some people..."

"Elphie, those fires were all over the Vinkus, it destroyed every one of their homes. He has nowhere else to go, if you're here. He wouldn't just leave with nowhere to go. He can't go to anyone's house from Shiz; they know him as public enemy number two."

"He might stay in the forest that's where we hid before Nessa. He could survive that way. He doesn't need a house."

"Here's the other thing that bothers me. It's true he didn't tell you about the Wizard, but how could he have?" Glinda paused. "Elphie, do you remember the day you disappeared? Well you didn't really; I mean you still stayed here. How did you do that anyway?"

"We hid the same place I hid when I 'melted.' There was a trapdoor under my hat. And yes, of course I remember. Why?" Glinda took a deep breath.

"I need to see your note."

"Note?"

"Remember?" Glinda stood up and reenacted the scene at Kiamo Ko.

"'What is this?'" she said in an imitation of Elphaba. She picked up the newspaper that was to be the note. she looked behind her at an imaginary Chistery. "'Why are you bothering me with...'" she scanned the page, her face darkening."What is it?" she asked, in her own nasal voice. "It's Fiyero isn't it? Is he..?' 'We've seen his face for the last time'" she dashed back and forth trying to get it right. "'Oh no...'" she walked to the corner of the room and picked up a bucket, the same bucket she was melted by. "You still have this?" she asked, before getting into character. "'You're right, it's time I surrender.' 'Elphie, what is it?' 'You can't be found here-'"

"All right!" Elphaba interrupted. She had to; Glinda was having way to much fun being her. "Yes I remember."

"Show me the note." Glinda ordered. "I know you have it..." Elphaba sighed and left the kitchen. When she returned, she carried a letter that looked similar to the other- crumpled, soiled, and soft from being read multiple times.

Glinda unfolded it carefully, and read it out loud.

"Fae. I hope this gets to you in time. I know it was you who did this to me. I can't thank you enough- I was nearly dead." Glinda paused and swallowed hard. She was still having trouble with guilt; after all, it was partly her fault he was captured and tortured like that...

"We are coming, Boq, the Lion, that brat and her dog Dodo... Toto. They think water will melt you. Use that. Try to 'die' near that bolt sticking up out of the ground, there's a trapdoor there. Glinda is coming; she might even be there now... I don't know when you'll get this. Don't tell her what this says. If we get out of this alive, no-one can no. I'm sorry, I know you want to tell her. You can't be to careful, so here's proof I am me." she paused and there was a picture of a Lion, and Glinda realized this was the same one that was in the Life Science class, the same one that was known as the Cowardly Lion.

Elphaba closed her eyes and finished the letter.

"You must think I'm really stupid, don't you? No, not really stupid... I happen to be genuinely self absorbed and deeply shallow. I'd better get to safety... get the CUB to safety. There's my proof, I think you know what that means. I hope we get through this alive. If we do, I swear I'll tell you everything. All my love..." she finished the letter in her mind with great difficulty. "...Fiyero."

Glinda looked at her.

"What does the proof mean?"

"It's a long story."

"All right, you can tell me later." She compared the handwritings. "These are a little different. This one" she gestured to the older of the two letters, "is messier."

"Don't forget, he was still Scarecrow then." She searched through the newspaper still on the table and found the crossword from that day, filled out by both Elphaba and Fiyero. "This is his handwriting; it's the same as the one on the note."

"Fiyero does crosswords?" Elphaba smiled, she was glad Glinda was there. She knew she probably would still be in bed if it wasn't for her friend. "Did he ever 'tell you everything'?"

"Well, I think so. After his and Boq's fight I'm not so sure."

"Boq was lying. He never said 'kill' he said the broom."

"With implied 'kill'."

"Elphie you know he would never let you-"

"Yes, I know." Elphaba hugged her friend. "Thanks Glin." She looked up suddenly. "Do you smell something burning?"

Glinda shook her head slowly, and suddenly her eyes widened in panic. She sat up. "Oh my Oz I do. Where is it coming from?" The girls dashed outside and saw smoke in the distance. The 'witch' grabbed her broom and swung her legs onto it.

"Come on, Glinda." The blonde hesitated, but she jumped on and they flew off to find the source of the fire.

**Yes, I know, the proposal is cheesy and uses the real lines from the end of the show. That's kind of the point..**

**Please r&r.. my inbox is lonely. I know you're out there, I get those things in my email that say "suchandsuch has just added 'Discovered' to their favorite stories." PLEASE R&R OTHERWISE I'LL THINK YOU DID IT BY ACCIDENT.... *sniff**


	5. Memories and the Truth

**A/N- If you're reading this you are my best friend forever!!!! I'm so sorry I haven't updated- this has been one of the longest weeks of my life. I'm not telling much, because you could be some creepy stalker. But this week, I've been preparing for auditions for Fiddler on the Roof. Ughh. The auditions are all week long- can you imagine???? You guys are my heroes!!!!! :'D (tears of JOY)**

**This is a shortie, I know. I have big plans for this one though…. **

**Chapter 5**

**Memories and the Truth**

When Elphaba and Glinda landed, they were horrified to see trees on fire. With a deafening crack, the tallest one fell over and the grass and shrubs around it were ignited. Glinda shrieked and jumped back, almost hit by the burning tree.

There was no one around, they had no idea how it got there. Elphaba searched through the Grimmerie, which she carried with her at all times, and found a water spell. She chanted it, and a stream of water flew out of her outstretched palm.

"Help me!" Elphaba cried. Glinda waved her wand, but all she could conjure was snow. With the water and snow combined, eventually the fire went out. Elphaba panted. Doing magic like that still drained her.

"Elphie, are you all right?" The blonde ran over to her friend.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." The green skinned girl fell to her knees.

Glinda helped her up.

"Elphie that was amazing. You did an amazing job." She tried to smile but it came out as a grimace.

"Amazing job indeed. You just made our job a lot simpler," said a harsh man's voice from behind them. They turned and came face to face with soldiers dressed in Gale Force uniforms. Glinda struggled against them, but Elphaba collapsed as the soldiers grabbed them each. One of them hit Glinda on the head and she too, fell limp. The men threw the women over their shoulders as if they were light as anything, and took them away.

When Elphaba woke up, she found she was alone in a room apparently made out of stone. There were no windows, and on singular wooden door. There was a large metal lock on it though, so she didn't bother to stand up and try it, even if she had the strength.

After a moment, her head cleared and she remembered vaguely that she and Glinda were taken... somewhere. A castle. She couldn't remember where, but it wasn't her castle, she knew that.

Beside her was the Grimmerie, pages strewn over the floor. She searched through the book, falling apart, and found a spell for repairing. She chanted, and the book flew back together as though nothing had happened. The green woman almost fainted from lack of energy; the repairing spell was easy, but she was still exhausted from the fire.

There was the sound of a footstep, but Elphaba didn't turn around. The footsteps approached until the mysterious person was behind her. She turned and there was Boq, standing and grinning.

"I see I have a guest," he said, smiling even broader. "The Wicked Witch of the West, back for a visit. Welcome." She glared up at him and said nothing. "How have you been keeping? I don't suppose there have been any... disappearances?" When the raven haired woman registered this comment, she glared again, grinding her teeth.

"Where is he?" She asked, her hands curling into fists. The Tin Man merely smiled; clearly happy he had caught her interest.

"Now then. I suppose you know why you're here?" She watched him, her eyes blazing. "You are here because you were supposed to die three days ago. Nevertheless, you're back." He smiled again. "Oh don't worry. I have no intention of killing you... yet." He snapped, and a guard came forward, carrying an unconscious Glinda.

"What did you do to her?" Hatred surged through her, seeing her best friend so dirty and ragged looking. Glinda groaned and snapped her eyes open.

"Elphie! Oh thank Oz; I was so worried about you!" The blonde's face lit up.

"We'll have time for reunions later. Now, Elphaba," he turned to his captive. "You know how to read this book." He gestured to the Grimmerie.

"No kidding. Brilliant observation." Her cheek earned her a kick to the face from the guard.

"So, I have some other books written in the same way. You are to read them," he continued as though nothing had happened, "and do as I tell you. Do you understand?" She didn't answer and the guard kicked her again. "Do you understand," he asked louder than the girls had ever heard him speak. "Glad to hear it."

"Do you want to know what happened, the day you transformed?" Elphaba asked, feeling a little stronger. He was still smiling, but she saw uncertainty pass through his eyes. "I helped Nessa, gave her her legs. You announced that you no longer wished to work for her, and you wanted to attend Glinda and... Glinda's engagement party," she said, swallowing hard. "Nessa was furious..." suddenly it seemed as though they were in the story.

_***flashback***_

_Boq fidgeted under Nessa's steely gaze. "Uh, Nessa, surely now I'll matter less to you and, you won't mind my leaving here tonight."_

_"Leaving," Nessa demanded, turning on him. _

_"Yes," he said, with uncharacteristic bravery. "There's a ball that's being staged, announcing Glinda is engaged, to Fiyero-"_

_"Glinda?" The governor knew Glinda's name was never a good sign._

_"Yes, Nessa that's right. I've got to go appeal to her, express the way I feel to her...," he looked at her apologetically. "Oh, Nessa, I lost my heart to Glinda from the moment I first saw her. You know that."_

_"Lost your heart? Well, we'll see about that." She laughed darkly. Elphaba reached out and grabbed her arm._

_"Nessa, let him go." Nessarose shook her sister off. _

_"Did you think I'd let you leave me here flat?" she asked, her eyes looking downright murderous._

_"Don't come any closer," Boq warned, holding a letter opener out as a weapon. _

_She moved closer. "You'll lose your heart to me, I tell you! If I have to.. If I have to..." Her eyes fell on her sister's Grimmerie, still open to the page Elphaba had just read from. "... magic spell you..." She ran to the Grimmerie and picked it up, searching furiously through it. She began chanting from the book, guessing at the unfamiliar words. Elphaba couldn't stand it. _

_"Nessa, stop," she cried, grabbing her sister's shoulder. But the governor was not paying attention. Boq, thoroughly frightened, looked at the outlaw. _

_"What is she doing?" The poor servant was ignored, and Elphaba continued to plead with her sister. _

_"No Nessa, you're pronouncing the words all wrong. Nessa!" Boq gasped, and grabbed his chest, panting. _

_"Boq," Nessa shrieked, suddenly caring. "Boq, what is it?"_

_"My heart," he croaked. "It feels like it's... shrinking." Boq stumbled backwards. _

_"Elphaba do something!" She begged, turning to her sister. _

_"I can't! You can't reverse a spell once it's been cast." _

_"So what should we do?" Boq fell backwards onto Nessarose's discarded wheelchair. _

_"Elphaba do something" Nessa ordered, tears springing to her eyes. "Elphaba it's all your fault, if you hadn't shown me that horrendible book..." she trailed off, knowing her argument was weak. _

_"I have to find another spell, it's the only thing that could work," the green woman said, picking up the Grimmerie and flipping through it, walking towards Boq._

_Nessarose began to pray, staring at the high ceiling. _

_"...Alone and loveless here, just the girl in the mirror, just her and me. The Wicked Witch of the East..." she prayed. Elphaba walked back to her sister. _

_"What about his heart?" Nessa asked, like a doctor about a patient. _

_"He won't need one now," Elphaba said gravely. "I have to go. I have business to attend to in the Emerald City." She paused. "Nessa, I have done everything I could for you, but it has never been enough and it never will be." She said, stating the truth that hurt her sister so much. The green woman disappeared. _

_"Elphaba! Elphaba come back," Nessa pleaded to the empty space. Boq emerged slowly from the wheelchair. _

_"Where am I?" He asked. "What happened?"_

_"Nothing Boq, you just fell asleep, and..." she trailed off, her eyes widening in horror at what Boq had become: The Tin Man._

_"What is it? What's wrong?" _

_"No, it wasn't me it was her! I tried to stop her. It was Elphaba's fault!" she cried, growing desperate. Boq slowly looked down at himself. He screamed and fled the room. _

_"It was Elphaba..." She screamed again, reaching after Boq. _

_***Present***_

Glinda sat, and Boq stood, both staring at her. Glinda was awestruck and slightly confused, and Boq's expression was unreadable.

"Um," Glinda said, raising her hand. "Question?" The green 'witch' nodded. "How do you know what happened after you left?"

Elphaba rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I watched from the window." She turned to her captor. "At least now you know."

"Don't think," the tin man said, "That I will let you go just because you claim you did nothing wrong. I assure you, you will stay here and do as I tell you." He nodded to one of the guards who had been kicking Elphaba. "Let's leave for now. It's clear she can't do anything for us now." The guard kicked her again, for fun. The other one picked up Glinda and she didn't fight him.

Once again, Elphaba was alone. From a shadowed corner of the room, she heard a moan. Struggling to her feet, she made her way to where the noise was coming from. There, in the corner, was a huddled figure curled into a ball.

The figure coughed, and turned to see Elphaba.

She gasped. It was---

**A/N- Who is it? You can guess... In fact, whether you hate my guts or not, you should. Some things to go by- anyone who's dead may not be dead…. Also, you know it's not Boq, or Glinda, or Elphie… Muahahahaha… More Cliffhangers. **

**That little button...? Oh, that's just the review button. He's the loneliest button on the planet. If he looked into the mirror of Erised, he'd see YOUR MOUSE clicking on him…..**


	6. Prisoners

A/N- This one is kind of pointless, but not entirely. We find out the mystery prisoner and a new mystery comes into play..

It's not the best, I know. Enjoy anyway!

Chapter 6

Prisoners

When Glinda awoke, she was aware of a low, painful sound coming from the other side of the stone wall. No longer able to sleep, she looked around the room closely. It was dark, and hard too see. After her eyes adjusted, however, she saw the room was triangular, the walls made of dark grey stone that looked like granite but it was too dark to tell. The floor was made of wood, but was so dirty and worn one could hardly tell. On the walls were dirty, dusty, and torn banners so faded they were unreadable. She walked back to the center of the room and sat down, unsure of what else to do.

The moaning noise came from next door again, or maybe it was downstairs.

"Hello," Glinda called out tentatively. "Who's there?" She did not expect anyone to hear her through the thick stones, but it felt good to think someone was there. Immediately, the noise stopped. "Hello?" The blonde called a little louder. "Can you hear me?"

"Hello?" A voice from what was definitely next door. Glinda went to the wall and waited. "Who's there?" It was a girls' voice, Glinda reasoned. Maybe sixteen or seventeen. "Are you a prisoner too?" Glinda was surprised to hear that; she didn't know anyone but herself and Elphaba was there.

"I am Glinda the Good Witch of the North, or I used to be." This response seemed reasonable enough; she doubted she would ever be let out of the room. "Who are you?"

"Anna. I'm eighteen years old. It's amazing to meet you." They sat in silence for a moment, both largely glad to have someone to talk to, especially because they were only a few years apart in age. They told each other their stories, or rather, Anna told Glinda her story, and Glinda told part of hers. She did not mention Elphaba too much; everyone still hated her.

Anna had come from the Upper Uplands, like Glinda herself. She grew up there and when she turned eighteen she went away to college. Glinda was pleased to discover she had gone to Shiz as well. Unlike Glinda however, she was a hardworking student, and not entirely popular.

"So then why are you here?" Glinda wondered.

"I was a Believer," the girl answered, a little sadly.

"A Believer?"

"Haven't you heard of them? Believers, like myself, we believe the Wicked Witch of the West was really doing good, not evil. We believe in Animal rights just like we believe she did." Glinda was touched. She hadn't known people like that existed. "We wish we knew more about her. There are so many rumors... Rumors she went to Shiz, rumors she knew the Scarecrow, and even a rumor..." the girl trailed off.

"A rumor about what?" Glinda was dying to know what others thought of her dear friend Elphie.

"That you two were friends," Anna said quickly. She held her breath waiting for Glinda's response.

"Are," the blonde corrected softly. "We are friends, best friends, in fact." Anna gasped, and so Glinda told Anna the story of how the witches came to be. When she finished, she was crying herself. It was still so fresh in her mind...

"Until a few days ago, I thought she was dead, like everyone else. I was heartbroken. I had nightmares about it, you have no idea what it's like, to see your best friend killed... but she visited me one night, and I woke up. I don't think I was supposed to see her. But... but Boq saw her too, and called the guards."

"And they threw you in here?"

"Well, no." Glinda went on to retell the last few days of her life. Anna gasped when she heard about Fiyero.

"Do you believe he really left?" The question was so innocent, it caught the blonde offguard.

"I really don't know. I've been telling Elphie that something seemed wrong, but I couldn't put my finger on it. She has no hope though. I'm afraid that here, especially with what Boq wanted...," she paused. "I'm afraid she'll..."

"You don't really think she would kill herself?" Anna was horrified. She had deciphered Glinda's hidden meaning. "Oh, she can't! What about the Animals, and what about Fiyero?" The girls lapsed into silence, both terrified at the new prospect.

"I don't know." Glinda said at last. "She's never let anything get to her... she's always been so afraid to be close to someone, afraid they would betray her like her father did, and her sister did, and the Wizard did, and Morrible did. Like I did. Fiyero was the only one who never went against her... but now, I don't know."

Glinda leaned back against the wall, not even caring she was touching the filthy rags covering it. She gasped when something shifted and Anna let out a shriek. One of the stones had moved! The blonde believed it was too good to be true, but with the help of Anna they freed the stone and could see each other clearly.

Anna was tall and thin, with long, dirty, raven hair. She was pretty, if you could see past the bruises and dirt on her face. She had dark circles under her eyes and was very pale. Anna almost reminded Glinda of Elphaba -save for her skin and blue eyes. She wore a simple black dress, and she explained she had worn it to a rally for the Believers. "We wear things like this, or we wear black hats to the rallies," she explained.

For the next hour, Glinda and Anna traded stories about Elphaba and the Believers, respectively. Glinda was surprised; she felt like she had learned more in that hour than she ever had before. It was interesting to see what others thought of Elphaba- apart from the fact that some believe her to be, well, a Witch. Anna explained that she didn't know exactly when the Believers were formed, but it was around the time that the green girl had become an outlaw. Anna, on the other hand, was fascinated with the stories Glinda had to tell, all stories about Shiz, of course, but still.

Soon, Glinda thought she heard footsteps. Anna helped her settle the large stone back into place, and just to make sure they weren't caught, they each tugged the rags on the walls lower. Glinda was right. Moments later, she could hear a door on the other side of the wall being opened. Someone- a guard- brought Anna breakfast. Once the guard left, Anna pulled down the stone and offered some to Glinda, seeing as she didn't get anything. The blonde declined; she would have to get used to it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Elphaba gasped; she couldn't believe who was sitting in front of her.

She felt the hatred flow through her, stronger than ever before. But, she's supposed to be gone, Elphaba thought. Then again, I'm supposed to be gone. Anything's possible, she mused. But that didn't mean she was forgiven. The apparent prisoner stared in shock at Elphaba, mirroring the green woman's own expression.

"You," she breathed, backing away from the figure on the ground. "I don't believe it." The last week's events replayed in her mind. The figure gaped, and after a moment composed her face in to an uncertain and obviously frightened smile. She straightened up, and walked towards Elphaba. She wasn't very tall, with tangled shoulder legnth dark brown hair and fair blue eyes.

"Hello, welcome to my... cell. My name is Dorothy Gale." The girl trembled slightly, and tentatively offered her hand. "If it helps," she began. "I don't think you were as ugly as everyone said you were."

Elphaba, still in shock, could not think of anything to say to the girl who had tried to kill her. The girl who had murdered her sister and had befriended her enemy...

"That doesn't help."

"Oh." The girl bit her lip, and Elphaba turned away, disgusted. She walked to a far wall and sat down against it, head in her hands. She stared at the ground, and out of the corner of her eye she saw the farm brat stand up and walk towards her. Dorothy sat down next to her and didn't speak for a moment.

"Well, I'm sure you have a very good reason to be mad all the time," the girl said. What does that even mean? "I'm willing to forgive you for what you did last time we met, if you'll tell me why you did it." Who does she think she is, a shrink?

"I don't have to tell you anything." Elphaba stood, glaring down at the girl in the ragged blue checked dress. "You killed my sister, you stole her shoes; the only thing left of her. You have no idea what this place has been like. Oz doesn't revolve around you. We had lives before you got here, and we'll have lives whether you leave or not."

"I-I never meant to kill anybody. I never meant to hurt anyone..." Dorothy began to cry again, and Elphaba found herself feeling slightly bad for the girl. It was true, it wasn't exactly her fault the house had landed on Nessarose. That was Morrible's fault... but the shoes. She had no right to them. The door flew open with a bang, and the green woman turned to face it. Boq stepped in, a look of mild surprise on his face.

"Ah yes, I'd forgotten you were here," he said, walking over to Dorothy. She wiped her face and looked up at him.

"I don't understand why I'm here," she said, looking absolutely terrified. The Tin Man laughed.

"I don't reaally know myself. You unrusted me, yes, and took me to the Wizard. However, you knew too much." This caught Elphaba's interest. She looked at him.

"Yes, Elphaba," he said mockingly. "She knew to much. She was smart enough not to show it, but when the others were asleep, I heard her talking to that mutt of hers. She knows about my connection with Nessarose and Fiyero." Now the brunette looked confused. Boq grinned when he saw the green woman flinch at the sound of Fiyero's name. Boq turned to the door, as if he had forgotten something. He turned back to the girls. "Glinda will be in in a moment. If you're going to be my servant, I suppose I've got to keep you from killing yourself, yes?" With that, he stalked out of the room. Dorothy stared after him before looking back at Elphaba.

"Who are Nessarose and Fiyero?" she asked. When she saw the other woman's face, she added, "If you don't want to-"

"No, no," Elphaba responded. She figured if she was going to have to spend time with the brat, she might as well learn to deal with it. "Nessa was my sister. The Wicked Witch of the East. She was the governor of Munchkin land after our father." Dorothy nodded and the green woman took a deep breath. "Fiyero was-"

"Elphie!" The door burst open again and in came a ragged looking Glinda. She ran over and hugged her friend, stopping short when she saw Dorothy. "Oh," she said, clearly at a loss for words. Dorothy stood up and introduced herself and explained why she was there.

"I was explaining who... the others were," Elphaba said. Glinda nodded, and stared at the girl for a moment.

"Oooh, Elphie, I have amazifying news! In my cell, on the other side there is a girl who has her own cell. She's part of this group..." Glinda continued to explain about the Believers and Anna, and a slow smile spread across Elphaba's face.

"Wow," she breathed, at a loss for real words. Glinda hugged her and asked what Dorothy knew so far.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," the green woman said. "Boq said she knew too much." Glinda had apparently lost some patience, or at least lost her gift for mincing words, or maybe she was just tired.

She turned to Dorothy and said, "What do you know?" Dorothy started to explain she didn't know what what she knew meant. The Tin Man came through the door again, and walked up to the farm girl.

"I'm getting tired of waiting. I want to know what you know about the three of us, and now."

Dorothy seemed to have gained confidence from not being murdered by Elphaba yet, and she replied, "I don't understand why it's important. Nobody at home will believe me anyway."

"Ah, you've got a temper. I should have warned you, Dorothy, a temper won't do you any good here." Boq wandered over to the wall, looking sort of distant. "Not at all."

From somewhere in the distance, there was a thud. The girls' captor ordered one of the guards to check out the noise. Glinda and Elphaba exchanged glances. What else didn't they know? Soon, the guard returned. He whispered in Boq's ear, and he immediately straightened.

"Our prisoner is giving us trouble." He gave a mock bow to the prisoners. "Farewell, ladies. I'll be back," he said, eyeing Dorothy. The girls sat against the wall and sighed at the same time. For now, it seemed, there had been a truce formed between them. Elphaba had no desire to hurt the girl as she used to, although Dorothy still made her want to vomit sometimes. Glinda glanced from Elphaba to Dorothy, and bit her lip.

"I'm sorry Elphie, but I think we need to know what Miss Kansas does, and the only way we're going to find out is if she knows our story." Glinda hated bringing up the MIA fiancee, but there was nothing she could do.

Elphaba nodded resignedly, but asked if Glinda could do most of the talking for now, as she was still very tired. Glinda complied and proceeded to tell the story she had told Anna not so long ago. She finished uncertainly, not mentioning the last week's events, knowing her friend's wounds were still fresh.

Dorothy nodded, silently accepting the story, although it was clear she was amazed with the entire thing. She sat, wide eyed for a moment, before composing herself and asking, "Then what happened?" She looked from Glinda to Elphaba and back again, but got no response. Glinda worriedly looked at her friend, unsure of what to do. Elphaba sat up, surprisingly. Glinda gave her a startled look.

"I might as well get used to it," she explained. Elphaba told the rest of the story, skating over the more emotional parts. She had decided the farm girl didn't need to know the 'Wicked Witch of the West' cried. Dorothy was in tears by the end, and Elphaba expected no less. That girl really needs to grow a back bone, she thought, but stopped herself remembering to be nice, even in her own mind. The witches watched Dorothy sob for a minute or two, but eventually the girl realized she was supposed to tell her side.

"Well," she began, drying her eyes. "When you had me click my heels," she gestured to Glinda. "I sort of went back to my home, but I ended up in my home. I had only really traveled a few miles, back to my house in the middle of.. what was it? Munchkinland." Elphaba snorted and Glinda smacked her, whispering 'I told you I failed sorcery'. "Anyway, the Tin Man- Boq, is it? He turned up, almost as if he knew that would happen. He said he knew magic could go astray sometimes, and until I figured out how to get home, I could stay here, as a guest. I'm not much of a guest now, I suppose." She thought for a moment. "I didn't tell the Scarecrow and the Lion and, of course, the Tin Man this, but when they were asleep in the Emerald City I wandered around the palace for a little bit. I found and old woman in huge puffy robes, she kind of looked like a fish. She told me bits of the story you just told me, but only the ones from before when you ran away." She pointed at Elphaba. "I told her all about our group, the four of us, and she had me describe everyone. Then she said the Tin Man reminded her of someone, and told me about Boq's past."

Dorothy continued to tell the story of how Boq had come from Munchkinland, like the Thropps, and had apparently come to Shiz wanting to learn about sorcery- just like Lady Glinda ("Call me Glinda"). He had managed to get into the class and was taking it in secret, away from Glinda and Elphaba. He had studied at it, and the woman never understood why, but he was always particularly interested in the different love spells; falling in love, 'falling out of love' as the woman called it, and things like that ("I can only imagine why"). She said that after he graduated Shiz she didn't see him again, but she had seen the Tin Man before; he had come to ask for help with a relationship problem.

"Well we know one thing," said Elphaba, a lot friendlier now the conversation was not about Fiyero. "That was definitely Morrible. She works for the Wizard, right?"

"I fired her," the blonde giggled for the first time in days. Her face turned serious. "The relationship problem." Her eyes widened. "You don't think that means Nessa, and me, and, um... the Scarecrow, do you?"

"It could be. Morrible could've said she could help him with Nessa..." the green woman paused, stumped. "You told her to use my sister, right?" Elphaba turned to Glinda, who bowed her head guiltily. Dorothy looked relieved to hear it wasn't entirely her fault. "No, that's not the point. You did, didn't you?" Glinda nodded. "Okay, if you said that before Boq went to her, she could have used that. She could get rid of Nessa, kill two birds with one stone. You'd be feeling really guilty, and because you had just been... rejected, you would be especially upset, and who would be there for you but Boq?" She smiled triumphantly, but hugged Glinda having noticed her wince when she mentioned the rejection. "I'm sorry. But it all fits. But why would Morrible do that for someone else? Boq probably offered her something..." The girls talked like this for another hour, coming up with different ideas that eventually led back to Elphaba's original idea.

She was surprised to admit it, but Elphaba was beginning to warm up to Dorothy. Sure, she cried more than necessary, but she was likeable once you got over that. Besides, with the new theory about Boq, that meant Dorothy was even less to blame for Nessarose's death. She supposed she needed someone to blame, and before she had talked with Glinda after Dorothy was on her way to the Wizard, Dorothy was the perfect one to blame. She made a mental not to apologize later.

After a while, Dorothy fell asleep. She didn't have long to sleep, because once again, Boq and his guards came parading through the door. Glinda went to wake her, but Boq shrugged it off, saying "You two are the ones I need now."

Glinda and Elphaba exchanged glances. This could not be good.

"I must apologize for earlier," he said, flexing his fingers causing a horrible screeching sound. "Our other prisoner was giving us some trouble." He raised his eyebrows at Elphaba, as if expecting her to comment. Not entirely sure what she was supposed to say, the green witch remained silent. "Right," the Tin Man said, gesturing to the door. "After you."

They stepped into a dimly lit hallway and Boq took the lead. He led the girls followed by guards down several twisted passageways until they came to a heavy wooden door. Inside was a simple square room, much like the rooms the girls were being held in, although much cleaner. To Elphaba's shock, her Grimmerie was sitting on a table in the middle of the room. Boq smirked, "I took it last night." He walked over to the book and casually flipped through the pages. He turned back to the girls. "Your job," he said. "Is to find a memory spell and a truth spell. That is your first of many tasks. I am locking this door, and two guards will be keeping watch." He nodded to the guards. "Let them know when you've found the spells. I know they're in there. Morrible showed me a list of all of the spells some time ago. So don't say they're not there. And if you try any magic on them, I promise, it won't be pretty." With that, he exited the room, locking the door as promised.

Finding no chairs, Glinda and Elphaba sat on the floor and pulled the dark green Grimmerie onto their laps. Glinda, who had no idea what the book said, watched as Elphaba flipped through the pages.

"I wish I could help you," Glinda murmured, glancing at the tall men blocking the door.

"I could teach you, if you want," her friend replied. "Morrible said you had to be born with it, but I could try to teach you. Look," she said, opening to a random page. "You can remember this by..." and so began the lessons. Elphaba had read through the Grimmerie several times since stealing it, but she was not ready to let Boq know that yet. She was fairly sure they were to be used on Dorothy, and seeing as she'd never used the spells, she didn't exactly know the details of what they did.

Glinda was getting there, slowly. She could read a few words, and that helped when looking at other spells. The guards never noticed anything; Elphaba guessed they were asleep. Just in case, the two witches never raised their voices above a whisper.

After a few hours, Glinda was getting tired. She had tried a few simple spells, but just like in the forest, those exhausted her too. Elphaba used a cleanup spell to get rid of the several animals throughout the room (animal spells were some of the easiest).

"Glinda, why don't you sleep? I'll keep looking," the green woman urged, picking the Grimmerie up off of the floor and pulling onto her lap.

"No," the blonde protested. "That's not fair." Elphaba wanted to explain that she already knew exactly where it was, and that she just didn't want to use it. But the guards seemed to be awake.

"Tell you what," Elphaba replied. "When I'm tired, I'll let you go trough it. You did a lot of magic. I was tired too. Sleep," she urged. Eventually Glinda obliged. She rested her head against the wall and was asleep in minutes.

Not a minute after, a strange noise came from the other side of the wall. Unsure of what to do, she crawled over to where it seemed to be coming from.

"Hello?" she asked. The noise came again as a sort of reply. Elphaba pulled over the Grimmerie and tried several spells in attempt to see who or what was making that noise, but nothing seemed to be working. It was either a very thick, or Boq had figured out how to magic-proof the wall. Elphaba didn't rule either option out. Although, she didn't understand why he would magic proof a wall and not the rest of the room. She resolved then and there to figure out what was on the other side of the wall. She just needed to know how.

A/N- Once again, I apologize for the pointlessness. But it's more important later...

Any guesses as to who or what that thing was? Boq must not want Elphie to figure it out... or does he?

MUAHAHAHAHAH.... sorry.

You see that button down there? The one that says review? Obey the button... Obey the button...


	7. Getting Through

**A/N- I didn't leave a cliff last time, so I guess this is my remedy to that. You guessed it, another cliffie. I'm sorry, I know how short this is. Short, sweet(ish. Well, maybe not) and to the point. **

**Disclaimer: I know I don't do these much. I figured the fact I am a fangirl (yep, I admit it), and the fact I write amateur stories on a Fanfiction site would be enough. I. DON'T. OWN. IT. Are we clear? Good. Let the story continue. **

**Chapter 7**

**Getting Through**

Elphaba was up through the night, turning page after page, not really looking at the words or spells. She was too busy thinking about that strange noise, which sounded sporadically through the night, and all that she had learned from Dorothy that day. Around 6 in the morning, Glinda woke up mumbling something about screaming, most likely dreaming about the strange noise in the wall.

"Morning," Elphaba greeted her, rubbing her tired eyes. Glinda's blue eyes widened.

"Have you been awake all night?" Elphaba nodded and smiled at her friends concern. "Do I have circles under my eyes?" Leave it to Glinda that that would be the first thing she noticed.

"Uh-huh. You have to let me take over for a little while; you look like you're about to pass out. Teach me the words memory and truth and then I'll mark all those pages," she insisted. Elphaba agreed.

She tore a blank sheet of paper from the back of the Grimmerie, and Glinda somehow had managed to sneak her purse in, and lent Elphaba a pen. She wrote out the strange characters, and let Glinda memorize them. Then, in a low tone so the guards couldn't hear, she explained that she already knew where they were but didn't want to use them yet.

"That's so sweet!" Glinda gushed, clapping her hands. "Oh, sorry," she added, when Elphaba shushed her.

"Still look for them and mark them, so that you'll look like you're working harder. Just in case." Glinda agreed, and a moment later, her friend was asleep.

She slept for a few hours, and during those few hours, Elphaba woke up several times. Each time it was because that strange sound came from the other side of the wall. The latest time, it sounded louder and clearer. It was definitely a voice, there was no doubt about that now. Deciding she couldn't sleep anymore, she sat up and moved her hair out of her eyes.

Glinda turned abruptly when she heard her friend wake up. "Hey," Elphaba said. "How long have I been asleep?"

"About two hours. Did that sound wake you? That's what woke me up. I even dreamt it-" whatever she was about to say, Glinda decided against it. "Never mind. It woke you up?"

"Yeah," Elphaba said. "What do you think it is?" Glinda shrugged.

"I wish I knew. It's gotten louder."

"I tried to figure out what it was, with some of those spells. The wall keeps rejecting magic." The sound went off again, even clearer and louder than before. It sounded like a person...

"That sounded like...," Glinda began. Her eyes widened, and she looked at Elphaba. "Do you think?" The green girl shook her head.

"I'm not getting my hopes up. _Who_ever or _what_ever it is, it needs help. I don't know how to get to it though."

"Well," Glinda said slowly, "I found Anna by leaning against the wall, and some of the stones moved. Maybe some of the stones here would move?" Elphaba nodded after glancing at the guards, now obviously asleep. One of them was snoring, even. She stood and stretched, then both of them pushed against random stones in the wall, hoping to find some hole in the security. They couldn't seem to find anything that might move.

They were just about to give up when Glinda kicked the wall in annoyance. The very bottom stone moved just barely enough to feel it. "Elphie," Glinda squealed. "Help me!"

After about a half hour, they had succeeded in pushing the stone through to the other room. It took both of them wriggling on the floor, pushing and shoving and kicking. Elphaba had to dig up some of the dirt underneath the rock (Glinda wouldn't dare touch the dirt), but they got it. They were able to force the stone through to the other side, and now, there was a small gap on the floor connecting the two rooms.

"Now what do we do?" Elphaba asked. The strange voice had now gone eerily silent, which frightened the girls a little, although it was slightly helpful by not waking up the guards.

"Here's what we do," Glinda said, looking pleased with whatever her idea was. "You give me spells for, I don't know, making holes, or being quiet, and I'll see if the other side of the wall rejects magic too." Her friend shook her head.

"That could work, but how will you be able to test the other side?" Glinda grinned and pulled off her blue dress, revealing a blue slip underneath, similar to the one she had just removed, only this one was much, much less frilly ("For emergencies"). Glinda -with slight regret- pulled of her tiara and earrings that had managed to stay on the entire time (Only Oz knows how), and she crouched down to the floor. To Elphaba's amazement, she began to squeeze her way through the gap.

After a minute or two, Glinda succeeded in getting through to the other room. She was a lot skinnier than she seemed, her friend thought. Either that, or the hole was a lot bigger than it seemed. She decided it was the latter. Glinda was skinny, but no one was that skinny. Elphaba watched her feet stand, turn, and stop. She heard a faint gasp.

"Um, Elphaba?" Glinda said with a trembling voice.

"Glinda, what's wrong, what's happened?" She knew there was trouble when Glinda used her real name.

"You'd better hurry up with that spell." Glinda sounded on the verge of tears. From the ground, Elphaba could see Glinda's knees knocking together. Glinda whimpered, seemingly no longer able to speak.

"Right. Glinda, just relax. Try to send bubbles or whatever through to see if it works." Glinda whimpered again and a few feeble bubbles floated through. Elphaba flipped through the book to find the right spells. "Glinda, are you there?" There was a faint reply. "Okay, listen to me. There is no exact spell. You have to wait a minute, can you do that?" Elphaba felt slightly ridiculous talking to her old roommate that way, but Glinda sounded seriously upset, and in a place like that she didn't want to take chances.

"Glinda, I've got to combine these. Give me a moment." Glinda whimpered again. Elphaba wasted no time in writing out the different spells for making holes, destroying stones, and making doorways and passageways. Elphaba copied the silencing spell first and sent it trough the gap, in case anything exploded too loudly.

Glinda had to try over a few times, struggling with the magic while she was so distraught. Every minute, Elphaba became more and more frightened. Over the past years, Glinda had become much more braver and bolder. Eventually, Glinda succeeded, and by that time the second spell was ready.

"Glinda, I'm here. I'm going to back away from the wall just in case something happens. You need to be very careful. I know you can do this, but you have to focus, alright?" It took Glinda two times, which frightened Elphaba a lot more. It was a combination of other spells, so she had no idea what to expect if something went wrong.

Slowly, the hole in the wall began to grow bigger and bigger until it was about the size of a normal door. Glinda hugged Elphaba the second she got through. The poor girl was dirtier than earlier, her clothes were ripped even worse than before, and, above all, tears were streaming down her face.

"Shh," Elphaba comforted her friend to no avail. "Glinda, what happened?" The petite blonde was not able to speak; tears still streaming down her face. She was not making any noise, she just stood and cried, shoulders shaking. Finally, she was able to point a trembling finger towards the far corner of the room. Following her gaze, Elphaba gasped and ran towards the corner. She knelt down, hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. Whether the screaming she was holding back was grief, rage, or confusion she didn't know. Glinda came over too, and knelt next to Elphaba, tears still streaming down her face. Tears began to pour down Elphaba's face as well, and she made no effort to wipe them away. Glinda grabbed her hand, and this time Elphaba didn't pull away. There, in the corner, was Fiyero.

**A/N- Duhn Duhn Duhnnnnnnn.. You can say what you want. You have to assume some things here, like the reasons why there was crying and screaming (held back, but still screaming, nonetheless). It will be explained in 8, but how cliff-like would that be if I told you now? Thought so. (Any guesses..??)**

**The button calls you. It wants you. It needs you. And, quite frankly, so does my fairly low self-esteem. XD**


	8. Too Close for Comfort

**A/N- This was going to be a cliffie, and it kind of is. But sometimes things don't turn out like they were supposed to. You get the ending perfect, but the middle doesn't match. It still kind of is a cliffhanger, so I guess you can deal with that. This one's pretty long, too. It's 2165 words, not including the A/N's and title. **

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: ...**

**Chapter 8**

**Too Close for Comfort**

Glinda was the first to calm down. She had somehow managed to cease crying, but now she just wanted to throw up. Elphaba continued to sob, and it was the worst sound Glinda had ever heard. She wasn't sure if she'd ever seen Elphaba cry this way before.

"Fiyero," Elphaba choked, reaching towards the body in the corner. She grabbed Fiyero's hand, clearly not minding the blood that seemed to be everywhere. Maybe she was too used to the blood, or maybe she couldn't even see it. Elphaba lowered her head, still crying. Glinda hugged her, trying in her own way to comfort her friend.

For the first time, Glinda was beyond sorrow. Maybe she'd dealt with what seemed to be death too many times before and was either used to it or immune. But it was true, she hadn't known him like Elphaba had. They had both now begun to accept the fact that he was dead; there was no pulse, no breathing. You didn't have to look hard to see that. You didn't have to be a doctor. There was no way anyone could survive so much... damage.

_What happened? Who did this? They had to have done it recently, he only went quiet a minute ago. There's no door in here, how did he get in? What is he even doing here? _These were the questions that echoed in Glinda's mind as the light coming from the makeshift doorway was obscured. She turned slowly and saw that none other than Boq was standing in the doorway. She gasped, and Elphaba still didn't turn around. She didn't seem to be able to hear anything. She was beyond feeling and hearing.

"I see you've gotten in," Boq said, walking into the stone room. "I thought you would've gotten in faster. Ah, well. That doesn't really change anything, right?" He grinned, and the light coming from behind him cast an eerie shadow.

"Doesn't change anything?" Glinda stood up immediately. "This doesn't change anything? He's dead, Boq. How can you say that?" Glinda had gotten over the Tin Man's sudden cruelness and apparent hate for everyone he used to know. Realization dawned on her face. "You put him here? But why? What did he do to you?"

"I didn't put anyone anywhere," he said, strolling casually over to where Elphaba was still kneeling. He nudged Fiyero with his foot, making Elphaba cry out. "Relax," he said. "This isn't really him."

"What?" Glinda asked. "What are you talking about? This is not some random person off the street!" Boq ignored her and grabbed what was supposed to be Fiyero's arm. Along the inside was a thin seam... He grabbed along the seam and pulled, and a little waterfall of cotton and straw tumbled out. Glinda watched, frozen, as Boq waved the fake arm in Elphaba's face. She didn't respond; she hadn't moved at all for the last few minutes. She stared, terrified instead.

"Stop that!" Glinda cried. She grabbed Boq's shoulders and pulled him off of the ground. "Why would you do that?"

"Because," he replied, grinning slyly. "I like to play with my food before I eat it."

"Well where is he then? Where is Fiyero, if that wasn't him?" The sound of his name caught Elphaba's attention. She stood, slowly, tears still falling steadily.

Boq shrugged. "It wouldn't be any fun if I told you where he was, would it?"

"What is wrong with you?" Glinda shrieked. "I don't care whether you like me or Elphie or not, but what did he do to you?"

"He took you from me." Boq said this with a totally straight face, as though it didn't really matter.

"That's not true. I never liked you that way, before he came, while he was there, or after he left. What did he do to you?" Though Glinda was small, she could certainly intimidate people.

"He sided with her." He pointed to Elphaba. "She did this to me, she's an outlaw, for Oz's sake!"

"Like that mattered," Glinda spat.

"And aside from all that, like I said, this is too much fun." Through this whole conversation, Elphaba's blood had been boiling and stirring, and now this was it. She took in a shaky breath.

"Isn't this _hell_ enough?" She asked, struggling to keep her voice steady. "This is all some elaborate _joke_? You did _something_ to Fiyero. I don't know what you did, or where he is, or if he's even alive, and you take me here, make me find spells to use against others, you make me believe Fiyero's dead and not until I'm half dead myself do you decide to step in and say it was a _joke_?" She took a menacing step towards Boq, chanting something under her breath. Glinda's eyes widened; she recognized the spell as something Elphaba had used not so long ago... Only this time, it was much more powerful. Sparks began to fly from her outstretched hands. A circle of green fire ignited around the Tin Man, trapping him in his place.

"Where is he?" Elphaba asked. Boq did not answer, and the flames grew higher. "Is he here?" When the Tin Man didn't answer, the flames went even higher, and she left the room, followed by Glinda. They hurried past the sleeping guards and down several hallways.

"What's your plan?" Glinda called, out of breath.

"I don't have one," Elphaba replied. She cast a locating spell that pointed her up a flight of steps. She and Glinda came to a familiar heavy door. Opening the door, Elphaba called out to Dorothy. "Wake up! You have a few minutes to get out of here." Dorothy was up in a moment. She hugged Glinda and Elphaba before hurrying away.

Elphaba tried the locator spell again, and it led the girls to another hallway. This had two doors on either end of the hall. The ball of light that had led them this fall hovered in front of both, and so Glinda took the right door while Elphaba, the left.

Heart pumping, Glinda entered her room eagerly, hoping to find her ex-fiancee. All she found was a broom.. Elphaba's broom in fact. She picked it up slowly, wiping dirt off of the handle when she heard a scream come from the other room.

Upon entering, Glinda watched what must have been one of the happiest things she'd ever witnessed. It was Fiyero, alive and whole, standing in the middle of the room. Elphaba had been the one to scream. She ran into his arms and stayed there, crying tears of joy this time. Glinda politely looked away when Elphaba kissed him, but she couldn't help but be overjoyed. The trio turned when they heard footsteps in the distance.

"Elphie, come on, I found your broom. Let's get out of here," Glinda urged, holding out the broom. Elphaba got on the front, followed by Fiyero and Glinda. They held onto each other as the green witch steered the broom out the door, through several hallways, making several turns, down the same flight of stairs. Glinda didn't know how she did it, but Elphaba managed to find a way out of the building. The whole time they were flying, they'd heard shouts and even Boq, giving orders. Somehow the guards must've stopped the fire, and were now on their trail. They heard the shouts from below, and when Glinda turned around, she saw the Tin Man, surrounded by guards. Deciding it was better, she leaned towards Elphaba.

"Elphie. I'm going to go back. I'll use the bubble, I'll meet you at Kiamo Ko, alright? I'm slowing us down. I promise I'll meet you there, alright?" Glinda asked.

"Glinda, you're crazy. We're here we just have to get out of their view," Elphaba replied, staying focused on the sky.

"Please. It's not that big a deal. I've used it before, that's how I get around," Glinda insisted. "Elphie, please."

"Let her go, Fae, we'll see her in a little while," Fiyero spoke up for the first time.

"Fiyero I-"

"Glinda can handle the trip back to the castle."

"I'm sorry you guys. It's just been a mess. I didn't want to lose anyone else." More guards appeared below, and the shouting got louder. "It's fine Glinda. We'll see you back at the castle." Glinda popped out of view, and Fiyero watched as a tiny pink bubble floated away.

Elphaba leaned forward in an effort to move faster, causing Fiyero to hold on tighter, unless he wanted to fall off the broom.

"Turn around and land now," called one of the guards. "Land now," he repeated. "Or we'll shoot."

The broom slowed at bit, before Fiyero urged Elphaba to keep going. It picked up speed, and the men below began counting down.

"10... 9... 8... 7...," they called. "Last chance," one of them belted out. "6... 5... 4..."

Elphaba muttered something under her breath, and the broom shot forward, now just barely in reach of the guards.

"3... 2... 1...," the voices below them grew louder. "FIRE!" As if Elphaba had eyes in the back of her head, they avoided every shot that came near them. Soon, Fiyero realized Elphaba was somehow deflecting the blows with her magic. When one came near, it suddenly hurdled in another direction. If he remembered correctly, magic still drained the green girl's energy... Fiyero could only pray she would hold out until they were back to the castle and safe.

Soon, the shots became scarcer and scarcer, and when Fiyero looked down, he could see Boq's men struggling to keep up. They were at least a few hundred feet behind and below. Elphaba breathed an audible sigh of relief as the fire ceased. Kiamo Ko was now in sight. Just a few more minutes...

Without warning, gun fire rang out again. By now, Elphaba's strength had almost entirely given out, and her last bit of energy was being put towards not crashing. Fiyero noticed they were losing height and speed, but Fiyero decided not to mention this to Elphaba.

Once again, the shots seemed to stop and the silence was deafening. They were only ten to twenty feet away from the ground. Elphaba was tempted to land, but she didn't think she'd be able to walk to the castle. The forest they were flying through was eerily quiet. Even the wind seemed to stop, and everything was still.

Instantaneously, a twig snapped below them. Elphaba and Fiyero screamed as another shot sounded, horrifyingly close to where they were flying. Adrenaline must've kicked in then, and the broom shot upwards.

At last, Kiamo Ko was exceedingly close. The couple could practically reach out and touch their home.

"Are you okay?" Fiyero asked, leaning forward, putting his hands on the broom handle and helping steer. Elphaba nodded, breathing heavily.

"That last shot came a little too close for comfort." Glinda came from inside the castle.

"Oh thank Oz," she cried. "When I heard the shots I thought... well never mind." The broom began to lower itself. When it was merely five or so feet from the ground, Elphaba fell off of it in complete relief and exhaustion. Fiyero lifted Elphaba easily. He carried her into the house, up the stairs, and laid her on their bed.

"Fiyero, what happened?" Glinda asked, eyes widening.

"What do you mean, Glinda?" Glinda pointed to Fiyero's shirt, which was covered in blood. "I didn't... I wasn't... Sweet Oz." The reality of the situation suddenly dawned on him. He sat sat on the edge of the bed and held Elphaba's hand. He called out to Chistery, who brightened when he saw Fiyero, then his face clouded again when he saw Elphaba.

"What happened.... miss?" Chistery asked. Glinda took charge.

"Chistery, we need you to get bandages, a knife, wet cloths, and a nightdress for Elphie." Within moments, Chistery and a few other monkeys brought these. Gingerly, Glinda cut the dress so it was more of a shirt and dress. She pulled the top half upwards, so Elphaba's green stomach was exposed. Fiyero gasped when he saw the large blood-soaked gash on the side of her stomach. Glinda managed to bandage the wound expertly in a few minutes, before sending Fiyero into the hallway so she could change Elphaba's dress.

When he was let back in, Fiyero sat on the edge of the bed again.

"Fiyero, what exactly happened back there?" Glinda asked, putting the Grimmerie on the nightstand. "Why didn't she tell you she was shot?"

"She said the last one came closer than she would've liked. I didn't know enough to take that literally." They sat in silence for a minute.

"What were you doing there, anyway?"

"I think Elphaba has the right to hear it first," Fiyero said.

"If she makes it."

"What? Glinda, you can't think like that. She's the strongest person I know. She'll make it through." Fiyero took a deep breath. "She's got to."

**A/N- i know, I know. That was insanely morbid. It happens! Blame it on too much Phantom, Sweeney, and Harry Potter. **


	9. One Step at a Time

**A/N- I'm kind of disappointed... what happened to all of my lovely reviewers? Believe me, I can see that 20 or so people looked at chapter 8 last time.. so why the lack of reviews? I'm fairly certain I've had more than this... *sniff.... **

**I'll admit... this is not the best chapter... Semi-cliffie at the end. Just warning you...**

**Thank you to Azarath253 and ElphabaROCKS for reviewing.. genuinely appreciate it! This chapter's for you guys!**

**Chapter 9**

**One Step at a Time**

Glinda was worried. Of course, she had good reason. One of her best friends was seriously injured, and the other would neither eat nor sleep. Fiyero had been sitting next to Elphaba's bed for the last two days, unmoving. Even Glinda, who was scared sick for Elphaba, fell asleep now and then.

While they waited for some sign from Elphaba, either a good one or a bad one, they planned where to go next. They knew Boq's men had followed the broom close enough to be able to go back whenever they pleased, which would be fine, if they had some way to protect the castle. But the only way to protect the castle was unconscious, and nobody knew if she would wake up.

So, as soon as they knew Elphaba was healthy enough to move or be moved, the trio, most likely with Chistery, would be going to Fiyero's other castle. His parents had bought a third castle some time in the last year, and it was now entirely empty.

After Glinda's morbid little outburst, she and Fiyero had been decidedly positive. Sometimes Glinda talked to Elphaba as if she could hear her, saying things about how great she looked, and she'd be awake and healthy any day now. She couldn't be more wrong.

It was true, she could wake up any day now. But with each passing day, Elphaba grew worse. She was skinnier than usual, and much paler too. Fiyero had begun to fear for the worst, something he was not prepared to do. Being locked in Boq's castle had been enough to learn to fear the worst, and that had carried over back to his home. He didn't share these thoughts with anyone, for there was no one to share them with. If Glinda was right, and Elphaba could hear them, then he wouldn't want to say anything he wouldn't say while she was there, meaning, how awful she looked and how little hope he had.

Fiyero was clinging to the last fragment of hope like a lifeline, praying his luck would change and she'd be back for good. The time they had together after the 'melting' was brief, but Fiyero wished he'd cherished it more. He had no idea that he'd be taken away from Elphaba, then given back again, only to have her be shot.

He was still furious at Boq, more so than he ever was while in his castle. Boq had somehow managed to take the one thing that mattered most, twice.

He blamed himself, it goes without saying. Fiyero blamed himself for letting himself be captured by Boq's men and for writing the note to Elphaba, despite the fact he'd had those muskets pointed at his own head. He blamed himself for not realizing Elphaba had been shot, and for making it back to Kiamo Ko without a scratch. He knew if Elphaba didn't survive he would certainly never be able to forgive himself. If she _did_ survive he wouldn't be able to forgive himself either, even if she forgave him.

It had been three days since they had returned to their home. Occasionally, Fiyero or Glinda would swear they saw Elphaba's hand twitch, or heard her mutter something. It could have been true, or it could have been a result of their paranoia over the whole situation. These were the times that they felt most desperate; they made tremendous deals of these occurrences, thinking, or at least praying, that they were small signs of improvement. Sometimes they would even manage to convince themselves Elphaba had gained more color, or that she was healing quicker than one would expect. As far as they could tell, she wasn't healing at all.

"Fiyero," Glinda whispered from her chair. "Please go to sleep. It's been three days, and nothing has changed. Please, just get some rest. It wouldn't do us any good if when she was better you were so tired you couldn't stand straight."

"Glinda, I can't. You know I can't," he replied, turning to face her. His back made a popping sound, proof of the fact he hadn't moved for three days.

"Yes you can," she urged. "I'll get you up the first minute somethings changed, I swear. I have no idea how you haven't slept." Fiyero didn't know it himself. He supposed when you cared for someone that much... "Fiyero, if you're awake because of the adrenaline, I understand. But once that fades there's no hope of keeping you awake. Please," she begged. "Do it for Elphie." The four words that could make Fiyero do anything.

Fiyero obliged, and went into the guest room, to get a pillow and a sheet. Within moments of course, he was asleep. Glinda shook her head thoughtfully. Poor guy, so tired he didn't even make it back to the room. He had fallen asleep on the bed, in probably one of the most uncomfortable positions imaginable. He had fallen asleep across the bed, and because he was attempting to bring the pillow with him, the pillow was half under his arm. Glinda, who still felt for Fiyero, despite her long-standing realization that Fiyero never really loved her, carefully arranged him into a more comfortable position. She had given up hope long before, but was now determined to love him like a brother. This may prove to be difficult... Sighing, she headed back to Elphaba's room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It hurts. My side felt as if someone put a knife through it. It was all I could feel. All I could see was blackness. Maybe my eyes were closed, maybe they were open. I couldn't tell. I couldn't focus on anything, it hurt so much.

"Fiyero," I heard a voice say. Glinda? "Please go to sleep. It's been three days, and nothing has changed. Please, just get some rest. It wouldn't do us any good if when she was better you were so tired you couldn't stand straight."

So he was here. Why was Fiyero there? I couldn't remember.

"Glinda, I can't. You know I can't." It was his voice. There was a burst of pain in my side, but I couldn't reach for it. Sometimes when people are hurt, they touch it, as if fingerprints on a cut will make it go away.

The pain fell away then, and I was dreaming. I dreamt we were flying on a broom, and there were noises below...

-------

_Instantaneously, a twig snapped below them. Elphaba and Fiyero screamed as another shot sounded, horrifyingly close to where they were flying. Adrenaline must've kicked in then, and the broom shot upwards. _

_At last, Kiamo Ko was exceedingly close. The couple could practically reach out and touch their home. _

"_Are you okay?" Fiyero asked, leaning forward, putting his hands on the broom handle and helping steer. Elphaba nodded, breathing heavily._

"_That last shot came a little too close for comfort." _

_-------_

The sound of the shot in my ear woke me up. I still didn't understand. Why was he with me? Was that what had happened? What _had_ happened? I remembered Boq, and I remembered Dorothy... I didn't remember Fiyero.

Slowly, I began to remember. We were escaping. We had found him, in a room in the castle and we had flown away. The shots... they were from the guards, from Boq's men, trying to get us. They were trying to shoot us, and capture us, and if we died in the process, then that would just make life easier.

So they had hit their target. Do people usually survive this kind of injury, I wondered. After all of the danger I had put Glinda and Fiyero through, did that even matter? I thought I had a choice, I could either live or I could die. It certainly hurt enough.

But did I want to leave them behind? Maybe. That sounded so horrible. If I didn't come back they could just leave Kiamo Ko, forget I ever existed and ruined this part of their lives. I got them both captured, Fiyero near death twice- or was it three times now?

But I still wanted to know. I wanted to know why he said what he said in his letter. I wanted to know why he left, leaving his engagement ring behind. He was back. He hadn't left the second he'd gotten the chance. As far as I knew, he could've left already. Either that or he had a conscience that would never let him forget it if I died.

Bringing up when Fiyero left had been torture when I explained my life to Dorothy. I had figured I should get used to the story, in case we ever got out of there alive. He left.. he left, with a note saying he couldn't stay any longer. Followed by the ring... The ring. Was I still wearing mine? I hadn't taken it off. Had someone else, in hope I would forget everything when I woke up, if I woke up?

He had given back the ring, the ring that had proved he loved me, and I loved him back. Just the thought made me want to cry. Was I able to cry, while I was trapped in the dark, waiting to know if I saw my friends again? Did they _want_ to see me again?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Judging by the light outside, he had slept a good three or four hours until Glinda woke him up.

"Glinda?" he asked sleepily. Funny how when you could be so tired you just are, but when you wake up you're even more tired. "What is it?" Remembering where he was and what the situation was, he opened his eyes immediately.

Glinda stood at the foot of the bed looking anxious. Of course, over the last few days they had both been looking anxious.

"I... I told you I'd wake you up if... if anything changed.." the blonde bit her lip.

"Is she awake?" Fiyero asked, standing up.

"Yes, but..." Fiyero ran past her into the hallway and Glinda followed suit.

Elphaba was indeed awake, although for one to say she looked better would not entirely be the best thing to say. She was crying, although it seemed as though she was unaware of her surroundings. She was paler than before, her skin now almost grey. She was skinnier than ever, the skin looking as though a bone might break through.

Fiyero sat down in the chair beside her.

"Elphaba.." he whispered. She didn't look at him. She continued to sob, the force of it shaking her thin shoulders. They were silent too, which frankly frightened Fiyero even more. "Can you hear me?" he asked. He tried to put an arm around her. She pulled away, still not looking at him. She nodded.

"Elphie, honey, you need to listen okay?" Glinda asked, hating herself for having to talk to Elphaba as if she were two. "We're not going to hurt you. You have a bad cut, so you have to stay still. Please lie down," she all but begged. Fiyero almost laughed out loud at the irony of Elphaba's 'bad cut.' Obediently, Elphaba laid down again.

Eventually, Glinda and Fiyero managed to get her to stop crying. Elphaba would fall asleep every now and then, only to wake up crying out. Whenever she did this Glinda and Fiyero would comfort her. As they quickly found out, Elphaba seemed to only trust Glinda, not Fiyero. He noticed how she moved away whenever he came closer, and how nervous she seemed to be as well. She would fiddle with her engagement ring, as though it would help her get better.

It hurt Fiyero immensely to see her shrink back when he moved towards her. To think he was hurting her only hurt him more. Soon, Elphaba began to talk, but only when Fiyero was either out of the room or out of Elphaba's line of vision. She didn't say much, as all Glinda talked about was Elphaba's health.

The first time Elphaba spoke up Glinda almost cried with happiness. She was convinced Elphaba would be better any day now. It hurt when she would wake up from a dream and only confide in Glinda, and it hurt when they had to talk to Elphaba as if she were three.

Fiyero was becoming less and less optimistic. Despite this new turn, there had been no progress. When Elphaba moved, she would wince and grab her side. Fiyero searched desperately for ways to get Elphaba to trust him... and then, Fiyero had an idea. It was bound to happen sometime. He ran downstairs to the kitchen, then ran back and began to search the room. He ignored Glinda, asking what he was doing. He found Elphaba's ripped satchel, and looked through it, at last finding what he was looking for: a small leather pouch.

"Is that...?" Fiyero nodded. "Do you really think that will help?" Glinda asked. He opened the leather drawstring pouch, and pulled out a gold band- his engagement ring. Elphaba was asleep, but maybe when she woke up...?

Fiyero didn't have time to find out. When Elphaba woke up, she turned to Glinda, telling her she didn't feel well. She then limped to the window for the first time since waking up- and retched out of it. When she finished, she gasped for air, breathing heavily. With the help of Glinda, he half carried/walked Elphaba back to her bed.

"Fiyero haven't you changed since we got here?" Glinda asked, staring at him again.

"What?" He once again followed her gaze to his shirt which was covered in blood again. "I didn't... I mean I have-" he tried as Glinda forced him into the hall.

"I'm changing her bandage again. Stay out," she said, shutting the door. Fiyero hated himself as he covered his ears. He couldn't stand the sound of Elphaba in pain, but at the same time he felt horrible that he couldn't even listen to her. After a minute or two, Glinda opened the door, allowing Fiyero back inside.

Glinda told Fiyero in an undertone as Elphaba fell asleep everything that had happened. Whatever had made her sick was not what was most concerning, it was the fact that when she ran to the window, or limped, rather, she somehow hurt her side.

There was no denying the truth now: Elphaba was much, much worse.

**A/N- If the reason you're not reviewing is because she's hurt and not entirely at her best, then please just deal with it... sorry, but honestly? No one even knew where Fiyero was and I got reviews.....**

**I know this definitely was not the best chapter.. in the middle-ish it was slightly choppy... it was kind of a necessary chapter. It gets better!! **

**I could leave a ransom note... R**e_v_**i**_**e**__w __** i**_f **y**_o_u **W**_a__**n**_**t **_a__n__o_t**h**er  _c__**H**__a_**p**p_**y....**_ **MUAHHAHAH... kidding. Seriously though. **

**Oooh, and can anyone guess what musical this line is from: "Granny dear, mother mine, old and gray at- 29. Calloused hands, broken heart, dreams that die before you start..." Any one? At all? Heck, you can even review namelessly. Just REVIEW.**


	10. We Have a Guest

**A/N- Yay! More reviewers! You know I love y'all! Thank you to DefyingGraity101, Rosella95, mselphabathropp109, SpontanuousChickie, Delurina, Katharina Leibe, and werewolf-in-training for being lovely and reviewing chappie 9. (Yes, I spelled those right!) Sorry if I missed anybody but I don't think I did...**

**I'm warning you now, things are getting crazier in my life and chapters may or may not come slower. Terribly sorry, but I think you should know that...**

**I know this isn't very long, and the beginnings a little filler-like, but the end is important! Slight cliffie- but not that much. **

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 10**

**We Have a Guest**

Glinda and Fiyero were nervous wrecks. Elphaba had not woken up since the last time, and with each day, the fear that Boq's men would come and the fear that she would not wake up were getting stronger. It had been three days since the last incident with Elphaba. The two of them had had the worst last two weeks: Being captured, escaping, Elphaba being shot, her waking up, being sick, and now just the terror of not knowing what was going to happen.

Glinda watched Fiyero with a mix of pity and worry on her face. He had taken to not sleeping again, although it seemed as though he were in another world altogether. Glinda felt too guilty to find a book or something to do, so she took to cleaning the room as well as trying to teach Chistery to speak in complete sentences. They seemed to make progress, and Glinda began to stress a little: what would she do to occupy her time then? She hated to admit it, but she began to think there was no way they would make it to the other castle with Elphaba. They would never leave her alone at the castle, of course. No, Glinda was beginning to think her best friend had taken a turn for the worse, and she thought it was only a matter of time before she...

Glinda pushed these thoughts out of her head as she swept the floor. She put her energy and focus towards sweeping, which was difficult for her, as she had never really swept before. She laughed a little to herself, knowing how a few weeks ago she would never have imagined herself _cleaning. _It gave her small satisfaction to think Elphaba would've been proud. She would've laughed at Glinda and told her she was cleaning wrong, just to get back at her for the thousands of times Glinda had corrected her social skills or outfits.

She would give anything to be back at Shiz, before Fiyero had broken Glinda's heart, before Morrible had announced Elphaba as a Wicked Witch, and before the entire Ozian population was on the hunt for her best friend. It was true she was long past Fiyero, almost losing him twice and being the cause for that once was enough to make Glinda accept their friendship, but it had hurt then, and it always would. Your best friend and fiancee going behind your back was not easy to forget, even if it was forgiven. She missed having Fiyero on one side, Elphaba on the other, laughing in the halls and having Boq follow her around like a puppy. She regretted every time she had ever been mean to Elphaba, and she wished she had done so many things differently. She wished she didn't have such a bad temper when she had accidentally and inadvertently sentenced Nessa to death...

She swept a large pile of dust and dirt into the center of the room, before managing to enclose them in a few bubbles of her own. The little pink dirt-filled bubbles floated out the window. Glinda sighed and went over to Fiyero, giving him a one-armed hug. He didn't really respond, he just continued to watch Elphaba as if Glinda wasn't even there.

At that moment, Liir burst into the room. Liir was another one of the flying monkeys. He was considerably younger than the others, and he was the only other monkey besides Chistery trying to learn to talk. Chistery, who was becoming more of a Monkey every day, gave him lessons sometimes. Fiyero sat up and blinked, as if just waking up. Glinda turned, setting her broom to rest against the wall. The monkey pointed to the hallway nervously.

"What's wrong?" Glinda asked, kneeling in front of him.

"Miss... kitchen... won't... leave..." he struggled.

"What? Someone won't leave? Who is it, what's going on?" Glinda asked, panic rising. Liir tugged her skirt, attempting to pull her to the hallway.

There was a crash from somewhere downstairs. There was the distinct sound of someone shouting, although slightly muffled.

Fiyero's head snapped up as something else downstairs smashed. Glinda headed towards the door.

"Glinda, stay here," he said.

"What? But there's someone-" Glinda protested before being cut off.

"If the person downstairs is dangerous, you won't stand a chance," he said, standing up and giving an apologetic smile. "Don't worry about it. Stay here with Elphaba." He walked out, pulling the door shut behind him.

Glinda couldn't help but be a little bit miffed. It'd been days since she'd done anything, and she couldn't help be envious of Fiyero. She was scared too. If the person downstairs was dangerous...

There was another shout from downstairs and suddenly it all went quiet. There were several loud footsteps that sounded from downstairs that seemed to be coming closer.

"Just let me in!" cried the person from downstairs. It sounded like a woman's voice.

"I'm not letting you in. If you cared that much you would've been here by now," Fiyero said angrily.

"But I'm-"

"I know who you are. I feel bad about what you went through, but that's not my fault," he growled.

There were noises that sounded like Fiyero and the woman were fighting. Whoever she was, she must've been strong.

"Fiyero, please, just for a minute let me in," the voice pleaded, sounding like they had resorted to begging. Glinda swore that voice sounded familiar... "Can I help it if I want to visit-"

"Visiting hours are over," Fiyero said. Slowly, Glinda opened the bedroom door. She tiptoed down the hall until she came to the top of the stairs. She could just see into the kitchen. The monkeys were everywhere, tugging at the woman's legs, skirt, and arms. She kicked at them and swatted them, while trying to get past Fiyero. She wore all black, black shoes, a black vest type shirt, and a black skirt slightly torn in some places. The woman's face wasn't visible behind a curtain of long dark brown hair. Fiyero was standing in front of the stairs, blocking them, with both arms out. The woman ducked under Fiyero's arm, and ran up towards Glinda. Fiyero, who was a former Captain of the Gale Force, reached out with lightning speed and caught the woman with one arm around the stomach.

The woman began to cry, her wails echoing off of the stone walls. She bent over Fiyero's arm, and he looked as though he had caught her in a particularly violent game of Red Rover. Fiyero looked up at Glinda and she immediately took a step backwards, knowing she might get in trouble for leaving Elphaba. She hadn't really left.. she could still see into the room. So, technically- but he didn't seem mad. Fiyero just looked like he wanted her to do... something. What could she do? Glinda glanced back at the room in fear that the woman's wails would wake Elphaba. They didn't. The crying woman paused long enough to gasp for breath and follow his gaze to Glinda...

Glinda's breath caught.

"Please, please, let me see her," the woman begged, tears streaming down her face.

"Nessa?"

**A/N- Duhn Duhn Duhn... Ding-Dong, the witch is back... **

**Remember how I had that quote last chapter? It was from Thoroughly Modern Millie. Haha.. here's one for this chapter... tell me if you know it and guess: "We could be sitting in the computer lab, 4 am before the final paper is due. Cursing the world cuz I didn't start sooner, and seeing the rest of the class there too... " Anybody?**

**You know the drill... review!**


	11. Sorry Again

**A/N- I'm so sorry! I wanted to post Thursday, but I was dragged off to go White Water rafting.. I got back last night. I wanted to post the day before, but I went on a trip for the weekend to Boston.. I even saw the Boston Pops starring Idina Menzel! I almost got an autograph, and every time she made eye contact I almost cried, it was that exciting. All those fakes that were there for Glee really PO'd me. Also, it was really funny. She sang For Good and Defying Gravity (The I Stand version) and it was so amazing. When she said "it well may be" all of the Wicked fans started screaming, including me. The people I were with thought I was crazy. She sang the whole thing a cappella, and without a mic. Then she said "something has changed-" and everyone screamed again. It was amazing! She told the story about how her first Wicked review wasn't a nice one, and how she still won a Tony anyways. I'm done talking about Idina now... *SQUEAL***

**Thanks so much to werewolf-in-training, elphabaROCKS, Demlurina, DefyingGraity101, Azarath235, Swirlygirl12, Maeline, and elphabathropp109 for reviewing. You have no idea how much I appreciate it!**

**Here's another.. It's better than the last chapter, I promise!**

**Chapter 11**

**Sorry... again**

Glinda felt as if she couldn't breathe for a moment. What was Nessa doing here? Wasn't she dead? How did she fake her death? Glinda answered the last question by assuming if Elphaba could do it, she could too.

Nessa watched Glinda carefully, silent tears still running down her face. She had stopped fighting Fiyero, and both Glinda and Fiyero watched as her face filled with rage.

"You! What are _you_ doing here? You almost got her killed!" Nessa cried.

"I could ask you the same thing," Glinda said surprisingly calmly. "You almost got her killed just as much as I did." Elphaba's sister hung her head.

"I know." Fiyero looked back and forth between the two girls.

"So... are we letting her in?" he asked. Glinda nodded slowly. Fiyero helped Nessa up the stairs carefully. "So how did you, um, not die?"

"Well I figured it wasn't safe to be around while Elphaba was still an outlaw, and now that Boq had left, I didn't really have any friends. So," Nessa began. "I planned to hide away. Morrible trying to kill me helped even more. Before that house landed, I rigged that little patch of grass to have a trapdoor. The house would go wherever I was." Glinda nodded, thinking it slightly funny that both girls staged their deaths by trapdoor.

They walked to Elphaba's room and the blonde prepared for the Wicked Witch of the East's reaction. Her eyes filled with tears and she knelt on the ground next to the bed. It looked a little strange, seeing Nessa kneel at her sister's side like Elphaba had done so many times.

"What happened?" Nessa asked quietly.

"She was shot," Fiyero answered, his voice hoarse. Nessa's breath caught.

"Will she...?" Nessa couldn't finish her question.

"We don't know," Glinda said quietly.

"What happened?" she asked. Glinda filled Nessarose in, leaving out Fiyero's departure. Fiyero resumed staring at Elphaba, but he watched her sister too, as her face changed from sad, to downright murderous, and finally to guilty.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"So are we," Fiyero shot back with a glare. He was in no mood to forgive her, at least, not now.

"Fiyero," Nessa began. "I know you're mad at me." She looked down at her lap. "I'm mad at me too. I don't blame you. But please, can you try to be civilized?"

Fiyero glared. "I am being civilized."

Nessa sighed. "You think I like you? It's all I can do not to slap you right now. The only person I ever loved was in love with Glinda, and Glinda was dating you." Fiyero didn't understand how that affected him, but he kept his mouth shut. "Not to mention the fact you almost got her killed time after time. Like, let's see: When you joined the Gale Force, and that day in Munchkinland." Fiyero still struggled to understand her logic, and so did Glinda. They exchanged confused glances, which went unnoticed by Nessarose, who was still talking about Fiyero's many faults. "Hell, like now. In fact, you might even have succeeded in getting her killed." Glinda gasped. "Good job, Fiyero."

"How could you say that?!" Glinda shrieked.

"I was sarcastic. I didn't mean 'good job,'" Nessa defended herself.

"I realize that. 'You might even have succeeded'?! What is wrong with you?" Glinda cried. Fiyero had lost what little emotion his face displayed.

"Get out." He left no room for argument.

"I'm sorry. I'm just a little stressed," Nessa said.

"Stressed? Stressed?!" Fiyero repeated. "My fiancee is near death, and her sister shows up complaining about being stressed."

"She's my sister," Nessa replied, as though that made her somehow more important.

"And? You didn't help her when she came to you, and after she helped you by helping you walk, you repaid her by blaming Boq's issue on her. He's the one that ordered us shot, did you know that?" Glinda walked over to Fiyero and put a hand on his shoulder, a silent way of telling him to calm down. His heavy breathing slowed, and he sat back down hesitantly. Nessa glanced nervously from Fiyero to Elphaba, as if she would suddenly wake up. The funny thing was, she did.

Elphaba's eyes fluttered open with a soft groan. Glinda raced to the bed, beating the others.

"Elphie, Elphie, can you hear me?" She grasped her best friend's pale green hand. Elphaba's fingers twitched and she took a moment to answer.

"Glinda..." her voice was hoarse from misuse. Glinda's eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry."

"For what? For Oz's sake Elphie, will you stop apologizing?" Elphaba gave a weak smile and Glinda began to really cry. The Witch of the West's smile grew bigger, and she looked around the room. Her face fell when she saw Fiyero. He came up to the bed and knelt next to Glinda.

"Hey, Fae," he said quietly. He put his hand with Glinda's on Elphaba's. Confusion and hurt filled her face, and although it was quick and quite possibly it didn't happen, Fiyero swore he saw her eyes flicker to her left hand.

"How do you feel?" Glinda asked her worriedly.

"Kind of crappy," Elphaba replied, making Glinda cry and smile even more. Her own smile grew bigger again, and once again it faded when she looked at Fiyero. He tried his hardest not to show how guilty he felt. Her eyes strayed past him and landed on Nessarose. At once, her eyes grew wide and she inhaled sharply. Glinda and Fiyero both turned to see what she was looking at, but turned back when it was only Nessa.

When she realized she was being paid attention to, the younger Thropp stepped forward. Glinda explained quickly how Nessa was still alive and Elphaba took it in, looking neither pleased nor upset. Elphaba didn't know quite how to feel about her sister yet, and they all left it at that.

Elphaba tried to sit up, one hand on Glinda's arm. She gasped in pain and as if by instinct, Fiyero and Glinda grabbed her hand again.

"Are you alright?" they asked at the same time.

"Yeah... just not used to this yet. Remind me not to move, Glin."

"You're really back.. Oh, Elphie, we've missed you so much. I even cleaned," the blonde cried. Fiyero allowed himself a small smile, glad she was back to normal.

"That's how you can tell she's upset," Fiyero commented. Glinda smacked his arm, and Elphaba bit her lip unsure of how to react.

"Glinda?" Elphaba asked suddenly. Fiyero tried not to be hurt that she seemed to be solely speaking to Glinda.

"Yes?" Glinda asked, fully alert in case something was wrong.

"Could I... Could I have something to eat?"

"Of course," the blonde replied happily. She stood quickly and ran to the hallway, calling for Chistery. This left Fiyero still holding Elphaba's hand and Nessa standing awkwardly in the background. Elphaba bit her lip again, and as a way to get her hand back, reached up to move her hair out of her face. Fiyero didn't let go though, making it extremely uncomfortable. Nessa scurried out of the room to join Glinda in looking for the Monkey. Fiyero, with his free hand, reached up and brushed a strand of hair off of her face.

Now alone, Elphaba looked more frightened than ever. She looked all around the room- everywhere but his eyes, that is. Her eyes landed on his hand- engagement ring and all.

"I'm back, Fae," he whispered. "I had no choice, I want you to know that. If you don't want me anymore, after what I did to you by leaving, then so be it. But I had no choice." She didn't respond, but merely bit her lip again. Glinda and Nessa reentered, along with an overjoyed Chistery.

"Miss Elphaba is better!" he cried joyously, jumping up and down. "Everyone will be so happy!" The witch's face lit up in excitement.

"Chistery, you can talk! Well," she added. The Monkey appeared not to notice her slip.

"Glinda taught me," he said simply. She beamed at Glinda, and the Monkey jumped up onto the nightstand.

"This is amazing!" Elphaba exclaimed. "Thank you, Glinda."

"It was something to do." The blonde shrugged. Elphaba reached up and patted Chistery's head. Glinda grinned, glad she had made her friend smile.

Chistery scampered off to make a meal for Elphaba, and the foursome sat in a thoughtful silence. Soon, Glinda and Fiyero began one of their infamous silent conversations. They had had these conversations through Shiz- a way of communicating without speaking.

Glinda raised her eyebrows. _How did it go?_

Fiyero shrugged. _Eh..._

Glinda leaned forward annoyed. _Well? Is she talking to you?_

Fiyero shook his head. _No._

Glinda's eye opened wide. _What? _

Fiyero shook his head again. _Later. _

_But-_

_Later. _

Nessa stood in the corner, nervously playing with a piece of stray ribbon, and looking around the room. Elphaba ate quietly. When she finished, Elphaba seemed considerably stronger, and she even looked greener. With anyone else, it would have been a bad thing, Of course, it wasn't anyone else. It was Elphaba.

After eating, Elphaba took a short nap. Glinda made her promise to wake up. Although she said it with a smile, there was some seriousness to the promise. Elphaba did promise, and now all the three could do was hope she didn't break it.

An hour later, Elphaba stuck to her promise and awoke. Glinda somehow convinced Elphaba to eat again, andChistery was more than happy to have something to do.

"So," Glinda said, trying to make conversation and failing. "Nessa. Why exactly are you here again? I son't want tot sound rude or anything, it's just.."

"I heard Elphaba was sick," Nessa said curtly. "I had heard from a reliable source that Fiyero had abandoned her after being seen at the palace, and that Elphaba was unconscious for two days. She found the note, saw the ring and was out." Elphaba looked down at her lap and Fiyero sat shocked. He'd had no idea... "I felt bad, I came here to check on her, this place was pretty empty. Then, I heard you all were back, so here I am." Fiyero and Glinda glared at her, and Fiyero felt a rush of (friendly) affection for Glinda. She was siding with Fiyero when she didn't even know what happened.

"Look, if you really don't want me here I'll leave," Nessa said in response to their glares.

"No, Ness. It's not that.. it's just... now is not the best time to be here," Elphaba said quietly. It took a good ten minutes or so, but they actually managed to persuade Nessarose to leave. She assured them she had a place to go, and left without a goodbye. "She can be sweet when she wants to," her sister commented. "She just never really wants to... Sorry about that, by the way. She has a gift for making things really awkward. Leave it to Nessa to bring up-" Elphaba caught herself.

"-My leaving," Fiyero finished. Glinda and Elphaba both nodded silently. "What I hate the most is how everyone says "How I left." It sounds like I was taking a vacation, as if I had no purpose to leave."

"Didn't you?" Glinda asked. "That letter said-"

"That letter was forced! Boq and those assholes had guns to my head. What else was I supposed to do?" The girls stared back at him, wide-eyed. "They got me up before it was even light out, and made me write that stupid letter, as well as leave my they hauled me off to that castle, and locked me in that room." Glinda walked over to Fiyero and slid her arm around him and gave him a one-armed hug.

"I'm so sorry," was all she could say. Elphaba didn't respond to either of them. She stared at her hands in her lap, more specifically at her ring. "I didn't know-"

"I know you didn't know. I wouldn't tell you." He stood abruptly. "I want to take a walk."

"Fiyero," Glinda began.

"I'll be back. I promise." He hurried out of the room, annoyed at himself for letting his temper get the better of him. He needed to think.

Elphaba bit her lip. She hadn't meant to make it sound as though she blamed him for anything. Maybe she blamed him, a little.. but she didn't intend it to sound that way. Now, she just felt miserable. Glinda came over and sat on the bed by her friend's feet.

"Now what?" Glinda asked her. Elphaba looked at her, confused. "You miss him, don't you?" It was more a statement than a question. Elphaba nodded. "Isn't there some part of you that's jumping for joy? He didn't leave you. He said he didn't tell anyone, you heard that right? He refused to tell me because he thought you had more right to hear it than I did. I'm not denying that." Glinda was running out of things to say, so she payed her final card. "He misses you, Elphaba. While you were sick he sat by your bed for days at a time. He never even slept. You're hurting him, Elphaba. I hate to say this. You're really hurting him."

"I know," Elphaba said. She looked down again. "I just... I can't..."

"You can't trust him." She nodded. "Elphie, this isn't college. He did nothing to deserve this. He didn't go behind your back or cheat off of your test. You know that. Please," Glinda said, standing up. "Think about it." She left the room and headed down the hallway, colliding into Fiyero. "Sorry," she whispered. She headed down to the kitchen. She needed to give them some privacy...

Fiyero ran his hand through his hair. He really didn't want to go back into that room, knowing Glinda wasn't there. Nevertheless, he went inside. He busied himself by gathering the dirty plates and stacking them neatly. Chistery, who seemed to appear whenever needed, took them happily, leaving Fiyero alone with Elphaba and nothing to distract him.

He sighed and put his forehead in his hand. Elphaba bit her lip. _Now what? _She wondered, echoing Glinda. She wanted to make up, she really did. But it was just so hard... That was the worst part. She knew he never wanted to leave and she knew there was no reason not to trust him. She felt terrible just for being so unsure of what to do.

"Fiyero..." she said, and flinched when he looked up. She had no idea what to say next. She might have had something to say, but she couldn't talk when she saw how miserable he looked. He had the whole package- dark circles under his eyes, pale skin, and the saddest eyes she had ever seen. "I..."

"It's fine, Elphaba. You don't have to say anything," Fiyero said, not meeting her eyes.

"No, I... I'm sorry," she said finally. "I really feel awful. I blamed you for something you didn't do. I had no idea-"

"It's fine," he interrupted.

"No it's not!" she cried frustratedly.

"Fine, then. It's not," he replied. His face was still sad, but there was a slight glint in his eye as if he were slightly amused. Elphaba wiped her face, and Fiyero realized she was crying. Instinctively, he stood up and moved to sit next to her. He began to rub her back soothingly and she put her head on his shoulder.

Fiyero didn't know how long they stayed that way, but he realized Elphaba was asleep. He carefully shifted his position and she slid back to laying down.

Glinda walked inside, sure they would have made up by then. She smiled at the sight of Elphaba asleep, with Fiyero sitting next to her. Fiyero caught her eye and they both grinned. Things might be okay after all.

**A/N- Well, I thought it was better, anyway. I know, Nessa leaving was kind of odd, but I had to kick her out when I realized Elphie couldn't wake up AND fix the whole Fiyero thing with her there the whole time... Here's a little spoiler for the next chapter.. it's called "On the Move." **

**1,2,3,4, you know what the button's for!**


	12. On the Move

**A/N- OMO, I know, I know. I haven't posted since my birthday. I couldn't help it.. After I posted, as I mentioned, we had tech week, and finally put up an amazing run of Fiddler. The week after that, we all crammed for exams. Last week, we had exams and finals. And on Thursday we had the "Tony Awards." The middle school and upper school plays and musicals are all recognized, and awards were given. Guess who won an award? Best Actress in a Musical in a Leading Role! Little old moi! Golde finally paid off, that's all I'm gonna say! As of today, school's out! It was the most emotional graduation I've ever been to. That's my excuse. That and writer's block, that is. Hey, I warned you I wouldn't be here for a while.. but now I'm back! And yes, I am working on a few at once. So don't kill me. Please?**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Wicked, would I really be here? Thought so. **

**Thank you to Maeline, werewolf-in-training, ElphabaROCKS, Azarath235, mselphabathropp109, James Birdsong, and SopranoElphiexx for reviewing 11.. hope you're still with me... **

**Chapter 12**

**On the Move**

It was all set. They would leave that night, taking only what they could carry in one hand. They were all packed, and now they sat nervously, waiting for the sun to set.

Nessa's visit was three days ago. In the time after that, Elphaba had done much sleeping, as she was still sick and injured. She told Fiyero and Glinda she was fine, but she prayed she really would be. She didn't show it, but walking and moving too much still hurt her wound, which was now almost healed. It wasn't as if it was gone, but it had long since stopped bleeding, and the skin was beginning to heal. She knew very well that if something happened to her, the wound could open again, and then... she didn't want to think about what could happen.

Nevertheless, she put on a brave front as she packed, and now all that was left to do was wait.

Glinda knew something was wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on it. As Elphaba walked around, tidying and packing, she noticed her smile was somewhat forced. She knew Elphaba would be upset about leaving, but she just seemed... stiff was the right word. She didn't stare into space thoughtfully or shake her head a little like Fiyero did, she just moved as though someone had said something that made her feel awkward, or as if someone had dumped water in her face. Every now and then she would close her eyes as if fighting with herself. She would sometimes watch Elphaba for a moment or so before she would get caught.

"What?" Elphaba would ask, her cheeks getting just a tiny bit darker.

"Nothing," Glinda would respond quickly, turning away. She wanted to know what was going on. She was tempted to ask Fiyero, but he never seemed to be alone.

Though Glinda didn't know it, Fiyero noticed something too. He noticed her rigidness, and he noticed how every now and then she would need to just stop. He supposed it was just because she was recovering, but somehow Fiyero knew it was more than that. He just didn't know what.

Elphaba stood still again, managing to not wince in pain as she twisted the wrong way. Taking a deep breath, she continued to sweep, gathering all of the dirt into a small mound. She rested her head on the broom handle, breathing heavily. She prayed the others would think she was just tired.

Elphaba jumped a little when Fiyero slid his arm around her. She jumped further when his hand touched her wound. It wasn't direct, of course, it wasn't even rough, or hard, but even the slightest touch was painful.

"Are you alright?" Fiyero murmured. Elphaba nodded.

"I'm fine." She wanted to pull away, but that had potential to hurt just as much.

"I don't believe you." Elphaba stiffened for a moment.

"Well I am. Fine. I'm fine," she said awkwardly. Fiyero studied her for a moment, before pulling away slowly. Elphaba caught a glimpse of the hurt that flickered across his face. She knew what he was thinking. They were still getting used to being back together, and already she didn't trust him again. She wanted to tell him that it wasn't like that, and that she did trust him. She didn't want to tell him because she knew what would ensue. He would insist on waiting until she was better to leave, and she was afraid that being better would be too late. Once they got to this abandoned castle, she could drop the strong act. If this went without a hitch, of course.

Glinda got her wish. Around five o'clock, Elphaba went downstairs to talk to Chistery. Actually, she was going to re-bandage her wound. On the way back, she would stop to talk to the Monkeys and monkeys.

The plan was that Chistery and Liir would travel with them, and the others would stay behind for the inevitable visit from Boq and his men. It was risky, but there was not much else they could do. Thirty or so flying monkeys, a green girl on a broom, a former Gale Force captain supposed to be dead, and a woman in a bubble with the biggest and puffiest blue dress ever invented.

Glinda and Fiyero watched anxiously as Elphaba made her way out of the room.

"I'm worried," they said in unison, turning towards each other. Glinda gave a little laugh.

"You first."

"It's Elphaba," Fiyero said, running his hand through his hair. "She seems like she's hiding something. She gets really tense when somebody gets too close to her.. and I just don't know." He pinched the bridge of his nose like an old proffessor. Glinda sighed.

"I was going to say the same thing. I can't help thinking it has something to do with her injury, but she's better, isn't she?" Glinda asked, sitting down forcefully on top of an old leather suitcase in an attempt to close it. Fiyero began to tug at the zipper of the suitcase, while Glinda bounced, trying to close it further.

"That's what she said," he replied, grunting as he finally yanked the zipper across the case.

"Okay, so say she lied," Glinda said slowly. "What would that mean?"

"It would mean we'd have to get to that castle sooner than we thought. We can't assume anything though. We've got about two and a half hours left. Are we almost done?" Fiyero carried the bulging bag over to the door.

"I think so. We've got all of the clothes, food, and that was the last of all of the magic, potion, sorcery stuff, so all we need now is anything too valuable to leave. What would that be?" Glinda asked, running down the list in her mind.

"Nothing. Now we just have to wait for nighttime. Then, we leave."

Sooner than they would have thought, night came. Elphaba, Fiyero, and Glinda all huddled in the doorway, waiting for the lights in the distance to go out. Since Elphaba had been dubbed the Wicked Witch of the West, there had been a set time (usually around 8 or 8:30) for everyone to be indoors and turn their lights out as a safety precaution. At last, the tiny lights far away went out, and Elphaba hugged the monkeys staying behind, and her friends could swear she almost cried. Fiyero clapped a few of them on the back gently. Glinda, still a little afraid of the monkeys, nodded politely.

Finally, Elphaba and Fiyero mounted the broom and Glinda took the Monkeys inside a rapidly growing bubble. With one last look at Kiamo Ko, the three best friends were gone.

Before they knew it, the sun was slowly rising, the tip of it beginning to show over the tops of the mountains far away. Exhausted, Elphaba pulled the broom into a small clearing. It hovered a few feet in the air as she dismounted.

"Wake up, love," she muttered, shaking Fiyero's shoulders. He had fallen asleep about halfway through the journey, and Elphaba was sore from having to support his weight while steering a cleaning appliance.

"What?" he asked blearily. His blue eyes blinked and filled with recognition. "We really left." It was half of a statement and half of a question.

"We did." She glanced around, looking for a familiar little bubble. It came, growing until Glinda appeared with Chistery and Liir, half asleep as well. "I think we'd better stay here for a while. I can put up a decent camouflage thing for now..." Elphaba began to think aloud.

"Where are we?" Glinda asked.

"Good question.." Elphaba said, still distracted. She recited a spell she had memorized long ago. At once, what looked like a bicycle wheel with four spokes appeared, only it was made of some silvery, shimmery substance. This was followed by a blue-green dot that hovered to stay near the bottom of the left area. Next was a reddish-gold dot, which floated to about a half of an inch above the other. Last was a dark violet dot. It landed below and far to the right of the blue dot, making a strange "L" if you connected them.

"Um... Elphie? What _is_ that?"

"This," Elphaba began, throwing out her arms dramatically, "Is Oz." She crossed her arms immediately and looked like she was going to be sick.

"Are you alright?"' Fiyero asked, taking a step towards her.

"I'm fine," she said. She didn't look fine. In an attempt to think of something else, she turned away to face the map again. Pointing to the blue dot, she said, "This is where we are. The red dot is where we came from, and the purple dot is where we're going."

"Wow," Glinda breathed. The three of them stared at the map for a moment, each thinking the same thing: _How long will it take to get there? _It had taken all night to move a half of an inch...

"Let's get ready for bed," Elphaba said, abruptly. The Monkeys, who had been silent the whole time, immediately climbed up the nearest tree and disappeared into the branches.

Quietly, they pulled thick blankets from one of the bags and bade each other goodnight. Each had one to sleep on. When Fiyero and Glinda had been silent for a while, Elphaba stood and tiptoed to the edge of the clearing. Carefully looking around, she walked a little further, until she reached a thin stream. Making sure no-one was there, she pulled up her shirt to reveal her gunshot wound. As she had suspected, it had been partially re-opened when she had moved her arms too much. It was a lot worse than she expected, though. Carefully, she reached down and tore off a strip of her skirt. She could tell the others that it had gotten caught on something. She wound the strip around herself, tying it painfully tight to stop the bleeding. She prayed it would heal soon...

Glinda stood, motionless. How could Elphaba keep that injury from them. She was most certainly NOT better. She was being selfish to keep something so bad hidden. Now she knew what was wrong with Elphaba... not that she got any satisfaction from knowing. She watched as the green girl pulled her shirt down and stood. Instinctively, Glinda took a step forward. Just her luck, a twig beneath her petite foot snapped. Elphaba turned immediately with a look of fright and confusion. She hastily rearranged her face into one of suspicion.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I heard you get up," Glinda replied, "and wanted to see what the problem was." Elphaba nodded. "What are _you_ doing here?" She decided on the spot to not mention her side.. for now.

"Nothing.." the green girl said quickly. "Just... thinking," she added when Glinda gave her a strange look. Elphaba turned and stared out across the stream, and the blonde took it as her cue to leave.

Walking back to the makeshift campsite, Glinda debated telling Fiyero about Elphaba. On one hand, she was Elphaba's best friend. On the other hand Fiyero was Elphaba's fiancee, and he had a right to know. She decided, reluctantly, to not mention anything just yet, and to let Elphaba try and sort things out herself. If she couldn't, well, then her secret was no longer safe.

**A/N-Yeah.. again, not my best. It's a filler. And now, I want to hear from my lovely audience.. who should be back soon? Anna, Nessa, Dorothy, Boq... or someone else? Let me know what you think! **

**I love you guys so much! **


	13. So Quiet

**A/N- One person voted? **_**One person voted! **_**I got one vote last time. I asked who you wanted back: Nessa; the evil sister, Dorothy; the innocent one, or Anna; the Believer from the other side of the wall. I swear, I **_**will **_**listen.. But if I get **_**one **_**vote?Do I have the right to be disappointed?**

**Anyway, my excuses for lateness are: **

**A) My lovely friend Winkie Bear moving away. I devoted my time to writing Beginnings, and thank you to James Birdsong, slytheringrl573, Beautifully Tragic Girl, and DEgreeniFYgravity for reviewing it. **

**B)I've been waiting on pins and needles to see if I got into A Little Night Music. I got a callback on Tuesday, but tomorrow it will be a week, and I've heard nothing.. I guess that means I haven't gotten in, which is okay, because it was between me and another girl.. Sill.. It would've been nice to hear. **

**C)Writer's Block! I had to write a filler chapter so that YOU would have another chance to vote. Fillers= not good. So now, you've got a stupid, dinky little cliffie, and you brought it on yourselves. This is getting harder and harder to write. I'm determined to keep this up, but YOU have to help me out. **

**Thank you to werewolf-in-training, jefiow, Beautifully Tragic Girl, SpranoElphiexx, ElphabaROCKS, Azarath235, Rosella95, and Maeline for reviewing. Thank you to Maeline for voting. **

**I understand if you don't remember Anna. She's the Believer from Chapter 6. The one who was Boq's prisoner.. **

**Disclaimer: …..**

**Here's the chapter. You brought it on yourself, that's all I'm gonna say. **

**Chapter 13**

**So Quiet**

According to the map, they were a little over halfway to their destination after five days of flying and walking. They were dirty, scratched, and tired, but the idea that they would get there faster the faster they moved drove them along.

Almost every night, Elphaba disappeared for a few minutes before returning shortly. She never mentioned where she went, but Glinda had a funny feeling it was the same place every night. Or at least, for the same purpose.

Fiyero grew more and more suspicious, when sometimes he was awake and saw her not there. He wanted desperately to confront her about it, but they were just beginning to get back to normal. He had to have faith in Elphaba, faith that if there was something she needed to tell him she would.

The blonde noticed this, and with every passing day her feeling of guilt grew. She couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen to one of them, Fiyero, Elphaba, or herself. She had no idea what.

* * *

Glinda, Elphaba, and Fiyero sat around their small makeshift campfire silently. It was barely enough to cook the wild vegetables the three had gathered, but Elphaba was afraid that anything bigger could draw attention to them.

The silence was deafening, and Fiyero was ready to scream. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts, himself included. That didn't make it any better.

"Why can't we talk?" Fiyero asked at last. Both Glinda and Elphaba looked up, surprised.

"We can," the blonde replied, slightly confused. Elphaba brought her knees to her chest.

"What do you want to talk about, Fiyero?" Elphaba asked.

"I don't know, _something._It's so _quiet!" _Silently, Elphaba stood and moved to sit next to Fiyero. Fiyero put his arm around her, and they sat for a moment. Glinda felt slightly left out and moved to Fiyero's other side. With a chuckle, he put his other arm around Glinda.

"Fiyero," Elphaba began suddenly.

"Yes, love?"

"Why didn't you tell me your parents died?" Fiyero stayed silent and stared at the dying embers of the fire. "The newspaper. Why wouldn't you let me see it?" Still, he stayed silent. "Fiyero, you could have told me. It wasn't-"

"I don't want to talk about it. They're gone, and that's it," he said, in a tone that clearly indicated the conversation was over. Elphaba looked down and bit her lip.

Desperate for conversation and a change of subject, Glinda cleared her throat. "Remember the Ozdust?" The green woman smiled.

"How could I forget, Glin? I think that was the last time I have ever seen Nessa smile," Elphaba said.

"I've never seen her smile," Glinda replied. "Remember that hideodeous hat you wore?"

"Glin, I _still _wear it."

"Oh. Right."

"And _you're_ the one that gave it to me and begged me to wear it," Elphaba finished, with a smirk on her face.

"Oh yeah…" Elphaba cracked up, and after a moment, so did Glinda. Fiyero even managed to crack a smile.

"And I remember," the raven haired one began, "that fit Nessa had back at the train station before we went to the city."

"Yeah.. When she chased after Boq…" Glinda added.

"I felt bad for him back then." Glinda and Fiyero gave her the biggest _"are-you-insane!" _looks. "Back then, you guys. Ugh, not _now!"_

"True, but you also felt bad for Nessa, back then," Glinda said.

"Nope. Eighteen years of living with Nessa had made things painfully obvious that if two people were unhappy, and she was within a thirty-foot radius, it was usually her fault." Glinda laughed. "Until I met you two, of course," she teased.

"Hey!" both Fiyero and Glinda exclaimed at the same time.

"Well ex_cuse_ me. _You_ were the one that decided to turn the whole Shiz population against me," Elphaba said, pointing to her former roommate. "And _you _were the one that nearly killed me on your first day," she finished, now pointing at Fiyero.

"And you love me for it," Fiyero teased back, pulling her onto his lap.

They went on like this for a while, remembering times they had while in college, and teasing each other all the while. At last, fully happy for the first time in days, they went to sleep.

* * *

That morning, Elphaba was the first up. She appreciated the quiet time she had all by herself, not that she didn't love the newfound bonds the threesome shared. It had been quiet and awkward for the last few days, just like it had been the night before. Whatever barrier they had hit, it seemed over and done with.

Elphaba wandered around and found a tiny pond, perfect for a quick bathe. The cool water felt good, even against her wound, which was steadily healing. Every night, with the exception of the night before, she had re-bandaged her wound, glad with the progress she seemed to be making.

When she finished, she put her clothes back on and went back to the little camp, and began to clean up from the night before. This included putting away her blanket, cleaning up the debris from their dinner, and putting out the last of the fire. She had no idea how it had managed to stay heated through the night, but put it out, nevertheless.

"Morning, Fae," Fiyero said as he stretched and sat up.

"Morning, Yero," she replied, before glancing at him and bursting out laughing.

"What?" he asked, offended. He stood and began to fold up his blanket.

"I can't take you seriously when you have that bad a hairdo," Elphaba informed him with a smirk. Fiyero rolled his eyes, a habit he had picked up from Elphaba. He gave her a kiss on the cheek before holding her back at arms' length and squinting suspiciously.

"What?"

"You look suspiciously clean." Elphaba laughed. They had begun to get used to being grubby most of the time, and she must have looked rather clean.

"There's a pond down there. Go clean up," she said with a smile, jabbing her thumb in the direction of the water. Fiyero didn't need to be told twice. Elphaba rolled her eyes and finished folding Fiyero's blanket.

Somewhere within the next few minutes, Glinda woke up.

"Morning, Elphie," the blonde muttered, clearly not a morning person despite her generally perky appearance. Elphaba tied her hair up in a ponytail with a piece of ribbon that had come off of her dress. Making sure to get near Glinda, Elphaba spun on her heel, giving Glinda a face full of water. "Elphiiiiiie," Glinda whined.

"Morning, Glinda," the green one replied triumphantly.

Now aware of her surroundings, Glinda blinked.

"Why is you hair wet?" she asked, as if it was a crime.

"There's a pond back there," Elphaba replied, knowing what was coming next. As expected, Glinda made a mad dash towards the trees that her friend had pointed to. "Hey Glin!" she called.

Glinda's blonde head peeked out. "Yes?" she asked impatiently. "I'm a mess, so hurry up."

"You might want to wait on that bath."

"What?" Glinda practically shrieked. "Why in _Oz_ would I want to do that?"

"Because Fiyero's already in there." Elphaba smirked as her friend turned bright red.

"You coulda told me that first," she mumbled, heading back to her blanket and sitting down dejectedly. Elphaba laughed and merely shook her head before putting her fingers to her lips and whistling. "Sweet Lurline, Elphie! Are you _trying_ to make me deaf?"

"Who's making who deaf?" Fiyero asked as he approached, his hair wet. He high-fived Chistery and Liir as they dropped down from the trees.

"Yay!" Glinda cried like a giddy three year old. "Fifi's back!" Fiyero rolled his eyes.

"I thought you'd stopped calling me that when we got engaged," he said.

"Yeah," Elphaba chimed in. "You'd matured by then."

Fiyero nodded, pleased Elphaba agreed. "Yeah."

"Because," she finished, "you'd moved on to better nicknames like 'darling,' and 'dearest'." Fiyero and Glinda turned red.

"Well, I'm gonna go, uh, yeah," the blonde stammered, disappearing into the trees.

"Hey, for the record, I _never_ called her 'darling' or 'dearest,'" Fiyero said, in a desperate attempt to gather any last shred of dignity he possessed.

"Uh huh."

"I'm serious!"

"Sure you are," she teased, flicking her ponytail in his face. In response, he shook his head like a wet Dog. "Alright, alright!" She picked up Glinda's blanket and dumped it into Fiyero's arms. "You fold this," Elphaba instructed.

He saluted her. "Yes ma'am."

When Glinda returned, it was decided that they would all spend a few minutes trying to find something to eat for breakfast. They had a few things packed, but they were saving those in case nothing edible was found. Not the best system, but it worked. They all went their separate ways.

Elphaba headed off in the direction of the pond. Glinda went the opposite way, and Fiyero headed off to a heavier part of the woods. The monkeys disappeared into the trees, apparently thinking this whole journey was like a vacation from working.

Within a few minutes, he found a bush full of what looked like orange jellybeans. He'd seen something similar back when he spent a month in the wilderness, back in the Vinkus, but he couldn't remember whether they were poisonous or not. Shrugging, he grabbed a good twenty or thirty of them. He found some more fruit, and carried it all back to the campsite. Glinda was already there, and a pile of corntaloupes in front of her. Fiyero dumped his contributions into the mix and sat down to wait.

After about ten minutes later, they decided to dip in, just a little. Each took a piece of fruit and ate silently.

With each passing minute, Fiyero and Glinda grew more and more worried. The silence once again seemed like it's personal goal was to choke Fiyero to death. At last, he stood.

"I cant take this. I'm going to go look for her," he said, brushing dirt off of his pants and heading in the direction Elphaba had gone. Glinda sprinted after him.

"Me too." She bit her lip and they set out into the woods.

**A/N- You brought it on yourselves. That's all I'm gonna say. **

**VOTE! Maybe Elphie, Glinda, and Fiyero will forgive you. **


	14. A Trap

**A/N- Hello, my pretties! Yes, I know. You can shoot me. First of all, I was in an insanely bad mood last time, and I'm sorry. Also, our lovely (brat of an-) exchange student was rescheduled two weeks earlier.. She lived on my computer and her cellphone, skyping and texting. So, yeah. And, my friend Wolfqueen came up to me. "You know it's going to be my birthday soon, right?" "Right…" "So you can write me something, for my birthday." "What?" "You did it for Winkie Bear.." "She moved to Saudi." "Thanks for writing it!" And she was gone. So.. I've been working on that too. I typed this entire chapter on my iPod, so cut me some grammar and timing slack. **

**Also, I had the best day ever, Thursday. We're on vacation, and our flight to NC was canceled, and we were stranded in Washington DC. So we found a hotel there and deal-ed. That morning, we were at the Reagan airport and there was this guy sitting in front of us. I was wearing my Wicked shirt (Yep!) and he said "Oh, are you a Wicked fan?" "I'm kind of obsessed.." "That's cool! I have a friend who was in that." I almost died. "Really?" "Yeah, she was in the tour." I did die. "Seriously?" "Yeah, she was Elphaba once." If there was any part of me alive left, that died too. "Seriously?" "Yeah. Have you heard of Donna Vivino?" I was in heaven.. I couldn't believe it. I haven't seen Donna, of course, but I saw her stand in, Meredith, last winter. **

**So, that was my epic flight fail. We lost a whole day picking my brother up at his camp in NC, and then had to drive to SC, but whatever. I met a former-Elphaba's friend! Yeah… now just have to **_**meet**_** an Elphaba..**

**I saw the 1996 Jane Eyre today too. I was so excited when Fiona Shaw came on, and I half expected Alan Rickman as Rochester. Pffft. I wish. The musical's still better, though….**

**Longest AN ever. Whatever. Deal. **

**..Oh yeah! The votes came through, thank you all! The votes were 2.5-2.5-1, so I got to decide, in the end. Thank you all!**

**Chapter 14**

**A Trap**

Glinda and Fiyero ducked under overgrown branches and stepped over large roots as silently as they could.

It was typical Elphaba, to disappear at the worst possible time. It was day, and not only could the threesome be recognized more easily, but they couldn't call out to her in case someone was nearby.

The two friends noted landmarks as they walked; the large rock that looked like a shoe, the patch of poison ivy, and the dead willow tree. All of those were things they had observed on the way to the pond, and soon enough there was the pond itself.

A small surge of relief went through them when they had seen that Elphaba was not in or near the pond. That quickly died when they realized that that fact implied she had gone even farther than she was supposed to.

After walking for another minute, Glinda tugged Fiyero's arm and silently pointed to a pile of fruit by a tree stump. Elphaba's.

Hearts racing, Glinda and Fiyero quickened their pace. They stopped abruptly when they reached a small clearing. It had taken them a good ten minutes to get there, so it was unlikely that Elphaba had gone farther. _But where was she now? _

There was a wide oak in the back of the round clearing, surrounded by complicated knots of roots and tiny pools of mud. Nearby, there was what looked like a large pile of rocks in front of mounds of dirt and sod.

"Elphaba?" Glinda asked tentatively. There was no response. Slowly, the two circled the edge of the clearing, looking for anything that could help; a shred of her black dress, maybe more of the fruit she had gathered. Nothing.

Fiyero moved to look at the rocks. It was strange, the way they were gathered like that, as if someone had moved them to climb up… With sudden inspiration, he attempted to climb up the pile. For someone else, it might have been harder, but he'd had the privilege of training with the Gale Force. Standing on the hill, Fiyero immediately felt a rush of disappointment. There was nothing to see, just more trees and rocks.

A gasp from Glinda compelled the prince to turn around. She stood by the edge of the clearing, examining something on the ground. Stepping carefully, Fiyero made his way back to the ground. He moved to stand next to the blonde and saw what it was that she had seen. By the base of the oak tree, in the mud, was a small footprint.

For a fleeting moment, both of them thought it was Elphaba's. It couldn't have been, though. Even if she had taken off her black army boots, her feet weren't that small. The print looked like it was a little larger than Glinda's but not by much. After a moment, both realized what the print meant. Somebody was nearby. The two doubted the print would have stayed too long…

"Hello?" Glinda tried, biting her lip.

"We know you're there," Fiyero said. "Show yourself." Despite her mounting panic, Glinda couldn't help but roll her eyes at Fiyero. His Captain side was showing again. She jumped when there was a noise behind them.

Another twig snapped, and they turned to face a short, pale girl with raven hair covered in dirt and twigs, and blue eyes that were so dark they were almost black.

"L-Lady Glinda?" the girl asked in shock. It took a moment, but recognition dawned on Glinda's face.

"Anna? Is that you?" The girl nodded. The blonde breathed a sigh of relief. "I didn't recognize you, you look so much…" She paused, looking for the right word.

"Dirtier?" Anna supplied.

"Well, yes," Glinda admitted, with a sheepish grin. Fiyero leaned down to her.

"Who _is_ that?"

"Oh!" Glinda jumped. "Right. Um, Anna, this is Fiyero. Fiyero, this is Anna." Fiyero nodded slowly, his eyes analyzing the girl.

Anna gasped. "You're back?" She dashed forward, and held out her hand. "Oh, it's so nice to meet you!" The former Captain had never been more confused.

"Uh, Fiyero, I'll explain later. That's not important now," the blonde said before turning to Anna again. "Anna, have you seen Elphaba?"

Anna nodded, wide eyed. "I was walking along here, and I saw someone in black. They were headed to that cave, but then all the rocks fell down. It may have been her. I was trying to move all of the rocks, but I heard you come and I got scared."

Fiyero still didn't trust this Anna girl, but he and Glinda both ran to the mound of rocks. He began to pull them off, as did Anna. For a small girl, she was strong.

"What can I do, Fiyero?" Glinda asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement.

"Help. Me," he panted in reply, grabbing another large stone and moving it away.

"I'm trying!" the blonde replied, put out. She wasn't strong enough to lift the stones… That was it! Lifting the stones!

Concentrating hard, she conjured the biggest bubbles possible, and enveloped one of the stones in them. To her satisfaction, the bubble lifted the rock easily and dropped it a few feet away. Fiyero shot her a grin and Glinda quickly continued to move the rocks.

Too short to reach the top, the threesome tackled the rocks at the bottom of the heap. They had to be careful of the rocks that fell from the top, but they didn't get hurt.

Soon, an opening appeared at the very top. Without thinking, Anna raced to the top of the mound and slipped inside the hole, despite Fiyero and Glinda's warnings and cries.

Anna hit the ground with a thud.

"Hello?" A voice asked. Not a voice she recognized. From inside, Anna could no longer hear Glinda and Fiyero. She was fairly sure they were still calling her, but she couldn't hear them.

"Hello?" the voice repeated. "Who's there? Fiyero? Glinda?" Fiyero. Glinda. Anna's brain raced. She decided the figure she had seen slip inside must have been Elphaba.

"Elphaba?" Anna asked.

"Who's there?" She walked towards the sound of the voice. Without warning, Anna felt herself land flat on her stomach. Cursing, she stood and felt the ground, looking for whatever had tripped her. It was just a rock. Throwing it behind her, Anna continued towards the back of the cave, now with a slight limp. In the distance, there was a small light that she hadn't noticed before.

"How far _is _this cave?" Anna muttered to herself, focusing on the light.

"Who's there?" The voice -definitely female- asked again. This time it had much more force and anger in it.

"I-I'm Anna," the girl said uncertainly. She waited as the person took a breath but did not respond. "I'm Anna Leonowens," she said, a little braver.

She was at the end of the cave now. The light she had seen was a sort of floating orb. Letting her eyes adjust, Anna saw that the person who had been speaking was now backed against the wall, wearing a long black cloak. Their face was hidden, despite the light.

"Elphaba?" the girl asked. The figure stiffened. "Elphaba, we have to go. Glinda and Fiyero are waiting outside." The person stepped forward slowly, and light from the strange ball was thrown onto her face. It was Elphaba, there was no denying it.

She was nothing like what people said. She had no warts, no blood red eyes, no wrinkled skin and pointed nose. She wasn't shrunken with age and evil, as some said, and she wasn't sickly green. Anna couldn't believe that a person who looked so… vulnerable could be deemed so wicked.

Elphaba eyes the girl warily, clearly not trusting her. "Come on," Anna urged, holding out her hand. Hesitantly, the witch took it. Anna led her back to the entrance, which by now was nearly clear.

By the way Elphaba walked, Anna could tell she was hurt somehow. After a moment of debating, she turned to Elphaba.

"Stay here," she said, stepping up on a stone. "I'll be right back.

-0-

Anna had been gone for almost ten minutes. Glinda and Fiyero worked desperately to move the stones, but they could only work so fast. They had given up calling the girl; by then she probably couldn't hear them anyways.

"Glinda, can you do me a favor?" Fiyero asked, setting down yet another stone.

"Sure," Glinda replied, conjuring a few more bubbles.

"Climb up, and be careful. See if you can see anything." Glinda nodded. "And be careful," he repeated with a small smile.

"Right. Be reckless," Glinda teased, stepping up and starting to climb. Fiyero helped her up a little, letting her step on his hands for a boost.

"Do you see anything?" Fiyero asked once the blonde reached the top. Glinda shook her head.

"Just a light way back there. It must be a cave. What a weird light, though." Fiyero thought hard, wondering where he had heard that before. The rocks had fallen down as soon as someone entered the cave.. There was a light in the back..

"It's a trap." The blonde turned so fast she nearly fell.

"What?"

"A bear trap. A Vinkun bear trap. They used to use these to capture bears, a long time ago. They'd get a light in the back of a cave, sometimes a fire, or something, that the bear would go after. As soon as they got in, the rocks would fall down." Fiyero stepped back to look at it better. "They didn't work too well, though." He thought for a moment, struggling to remember the details he had learned so long ago. "I think," the former Captain said slowly, "There's supposed to be a cloth or something that you can pull, so that the rocks fall down."

Glinda took a breath, determination on her face. "Let's find it, then."

-0-

Elphaba watched as the girl climbed swiftly up the mound of stones. She didn't seem that bad, and she almost reminder her of… well, herself a little. She still didn't trust her, mind you, but she hadn't done anything to turn Elphaba against her either.

In the dim light, the green witch saw the stones shift slightly.

"Anna," she warned. Anna felt it too. She began to climb faster, almost to the top. The pile moved again. "Anna!" Elphaba reached up and grabbed Anna's arm, pulling her backwards as the stones tumbled in all directions. Anna fell into the tall woman, but neither made a noise as the stones rolled.

"Thanks," Anna breathed. Elphaba just nodded.

Both dark haired-girls squinted, not used to the sudden light.

"Elphaba! Oh, thank Oz!" The witch sprinted over the fallen rocks to Fiyero and Glinda and hugged them each in turn as Anna watched. Elphaba turned back to Anna, smile half fading. Glinda motioned the girl forward.

Anna cautiously walked towards the three of them. The green one moved a little to the right, to stand next to Fiyero. He put his arm around her, as if Anna would do something to hurt her. Only Glinda smiled, giving the girl a small hug of her own.

"Thank you," the blonde said quietly.

-0-

The walk back to their 'camp' was silent, save for the occasional sound of twigs snapping beneath their feet. Glinda seemed to be unaware of the fact that nobody had a clue who the raven haired girl was.

"So.." Anna said quietly, trying to break the silence.

"Oh!" The blonde snapped to attention. "Uh, Anna, this is Fiyero and Elphaba, and um, Fiyero and Elphaba, this is Anna." Anna nervously gave a little wave. Fiyero nodded, already having been introduced.

"Hi," Elphaba responded quietly.

"And who _is _Anna?" Fiyero asked. Anna's eyes widened a little.

"He didn't mean it like that," the witch said quickly. "He only wanted to know how you seem to know Glinda." His question had sounded ruder than intended.

"Anna was in the room next to mine when we at Boq's," Glinda explained. Fiyero gave a small laugh.

"You make it sound like we were guests for a weekend," he said. Elphaba beamed.

"Glinda told me about you," she said, grinning at Anna. Anna smiled back, slowly.

"Anna's a Believer," Glinda said proudly, as if it was her personal achievement.

"A _what_?" Fiyero asked, completely lost.

"We're a different kind of rightist," Anna said, suddenly embarrassed.

"They're _witch_ rightists," the blonde clarified. Fiyero looked at her, still confused. "They were _for _Elphaba. And you," she added with a nod to the former Captain.

"It's so nice to meet you," Elphaba said. Anna's smile grew into a full blown grin.

"You too." The four of them reached the camp, picking up Elphaba's abandoned fruit on the way.

"Anyone hungry?" Fiyero asked, depositing even more food into the pile.

"Starving," the three girls said at the same time. They all laughed and began to eat.

"So how did you get here, Anna?" Elphaba asked, pulling her knees up to her chest. Anna put her hands on the ground behind her.

"After you guys left, those idiot guards came looking for you in my room and left the door open," she grinned. "Then I just ran. I found a stable with a few horses, and the guy there let me take a horse. He said the horses know how to get back, so as long as he came back healthy it was alright. I was riding along for a while, and then one night the horse left without me. So, I wandered, and then I saw you," she finished, pointing to Elphaba.

Seeing the looks Glinda and Fiyero exchanged, Elphaba stood, brushing dirt off of herself.

"Anna, why don't you come with me? I'll show you where you can get clean." Anna didn't need to be asked twice. She nearly fell over jumping up from her seat; she was so excited to spend time with her idol. Elphaba shuddered, still trying to understand how Glinda managed with so many fans. Elphaba only knew one and it was driving her crazy. Glinda shot the green witch a small smile, thanking her. Elphaba nodded in response, and off they went.

"Fiyero, what are we going to do about Anna?" Glinda asked, the second the two raven haired girls were out of earshot.

"I don't know, Glinda. I don't trust her, but.." Fiyero sighed. "We can't just leave her in the middle of the woods."

"Maybe she should come with us," the blonde suggested. "She could just stay with us until we get to the castle, and then we'll be gone." Fiyero looked up in surprise.

"'We?'"

"Yes, Fiyero. I'm not going to stay with you forever. Nobody knows where I am. They're probably on a manhunt right now. I can go back to my home for a few days, and bring Anna along." Fiyero nodded, thinking.

"We'll have to talk to Anna about it, too. She's got to have someone to go to," he said as Elphaba emerged from the direction of the pond.

"What are we talking about?" she asked, sitting down in between Glinda and Fiyero.

"What to do with Anna. She can't stay with us forever," Fiyero said. Elphaba sighed.

"She better not. How can you stand fans, Glinda? I'm ready to shoot that girl," a smile tugged at Fiyero's lips and Glinda stifled a laugh.

"Why?" the blonde managed to ask evenly.

"She hasn't shut up in the last ten minutes. She asked me for my _autograph_!" That was it. Fiyero and Glinda both lost it, bursting into loud laughter. "You guys!" Elphaba shouted indignantly, but soon she started to laugh with them.

Anna came back a few minutes later, hair dripping. By then, the threesome had calmed down, but were still grinning. She sat down next to Glinda, clearly annoyed she was not next to Elphaba.

"So, Anna," Fiyero began, turning to the girl. "Where do you plan to go from here?"

"Um," Anna looked down. "I really don't know."

"Well, where were you headed on that horse?" Glinda tried.

"Away from Boq."

"Ah." They sat in silence for a moment.

"Well, what if you went home to your parents?" Glinda tried again.

"My father went missing a long time ago," the girl responded quietly.

"What about your mother?" Elphaba asked.

"She's dead."

**AN- Yay! So, Elphie's good (did you really think that I would harm her? Why should I make her pay.. Sorry. My Phan side. Anyway, I played the death scare thing once. That was enough.) and Anna's here! She was tied with Dorothy, but I really can't stand that girl. **

**Thank you all so much!**


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